Fate
by JKaitz
Summary: Because a single hit in the head is all that is needed...
1. Chapter I

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina or any of the characters, they are all property of Ken Akamatsu.

Timeline: This fic timeline begins when Keitaro finally makes it into Tokyo U but He breaks his leg, anything from that point on will be different or at least I'll try to make it good and original for you dear reader. Now let's begin shall we?

- '_Thoughts' -_

_- memories -_

_**-'sound effects' -**_

**Important stuff, emphasis**

------------------- Change of scenery, change of character

* * *

**FATE**

Fate, what is fate? Something that is bound to happen? Why?

What does control fate? Is it something given to us by a higher power? For a higher purpose?

I don't know… I will never know, I can assume things to try to explain and make everything that happens to me more acceptable but I'll never truly know… is fate truly something given to you? What if fate was something you earn? Like the crops the farmer rips after sewing?

Can you truly change fate? I don't know… but I don't believe I can change something I am not aware of… to change something you need to be aware of it in the first place… if I don't know my fate. How am I supposed to change it?

But one thing is certain… fate seems to like to play with mankind… in any way this mischievous force pleases and the more substantial and radical the change… the better.

Things within our reach, are suddenly swiped away, hard work is wasted, fortune becomes poverty and then, it becomes a fortune, luck becomes your downfall, tragedy becomes your strength, relationships die while others are born… there is no such thing more changing and daring than fate.

And I can tell you… you can't know the true face of fate… The moment you think you do, the moment it comes crashing down on you.

* * *

I've been in trouble a great deal of my life… especially after becoming the manager of Hinata Sou, there I've met people, very especial people, I've had many adventures with them, and most of all, I've made the best memories of my life.

Being honest, I've done things I'd only had dreamed of since I moved there… I've been living with many girls, as a matter of fact I took a photo sticker with one of them, making it the first photo with a girl besides my sister… and that's not all.

Shortly after settling in Hinata Sou, I failed my entrance examination to Tokyo U… again, but that time I wasn't alone, that time I had a fellow 'ronin' and went to a trip together to clear our minds (of course I need to remember that we never meant to go together but it still happened as if fate had had it) and right after that I met another 'ronin' although she is not staying at Hinata Sou she is very especial to me, after all, she gave me my first kiss… even though **she kisses all the people she likes.**

I could ramble all night about the good and the bad times I've had but none of them would explain my situation right now… I am in a bed, a hospital bed, in my first day of attendance to Tokyo U, my long awaited dream and yet… so short lived.

It's funny, I have received a lot of punishment over the last few years and somehow I've found a way to get out of it almost unharmed (one scratch or two every once in a while), heck even the tenants thinks I have some kind of immortality for taking so much punishment. I was even starting to believe that but then…

To make a long and painful story short, at the entrance ceremony at Tokyo U I received some of the usual punishment, not like I did something wrong or perverted, but now that I think about it, I surely embarrassed Naru to the breaking point (I was jumping around the campus happily like a jerk), and that earned me a flight towards the University cupola but the thing is… I didn't mind at all! I was so happy to let **that **get me down, I even **danced** up there! But moments latter I heard a loud creaking sound and some terrified gasps as the cupola slid off it's hinges taking me along with it… falling on me, and so, here I am with a broken leg and a broken spirit, my dream of becoming a Tokyo U student along with Naru was suddenly swiped away from me.

I… I feel as if the world was playing with me, taking everything I've worked hard to get, my dreams and efforts and turning them into smoke, I… I feel bad, troubled, nothing more can't be taken from me, right? At least it can't take everything I've lived until now, can it? No… it can't. It can't take away all the experiences I've had with Naru… my promised girl, the only girl I am willing to wait for…

Just as I was sinking into my thoughts, I received visitors; all the girls from the Hinata Sou came to visit me, but one, Naru… she should still be in the entrance ceremony with Mutsumi, they would come here after the ceremony was over, I was sure of it.

Hours passed and the girls had to leave for the day, it was fun having them here and I feel much better now, it was a good time, but something still bothers me… Naru. She hasn't come to visit me, to make it worst, the visitor's hours are almost over.

Just when I was about to give up hope, I heard a noise come from outside the room, it was a light noise, as if someone tried to come here quietly or unnoticed, I didn't know who it was until she greeted me.

"**NARU!"** I screamed in joy to see her, I knew she wouldn't let me down.

She suddenly gestured me to quiet down. We started talking about today, I asked how was the entrance Ceremony, and she gave me a very enlightened response, she had a good time today, I was happy for her but It made me sad too, I explained that I would have to lose this semester because of my broken leg.

She seemed a little disappointed with that last bit of information, but she tried to cheer me up, telling me that at least I was already accepted and when my cast came off, I could start my college days.

True, it was true… In some fashion I was already into Tokyo U, but that was not **it**, my promise… I was supposed to get into Tokyo U **with her!** But, but I couldn't tell her that, there was no point, she had already **left me behind**, she had attended the entrance ceremony, the last step to becoming a full fledged Tokyo U student while I was being taken to the hospital because of a broken leg.

I felt myself despair… I despaired because everything I had worked for, all of this time trying to fulfill my promise had been taken away when I was about to grasp it, I hadn't fulfilled my promise entirely and I was afraid… afraid that Naru would be taken away from me.

The time passed, and I still felt miserable, but I tried to hide it, I didn't want Naru to see me down, but as time passed, I realized that I didn't need to try too hard, Naru was so happy… she didn't seem to understand me, and for a moment I felt as if she was very far from me, even tough she was sitting right next to me.

The next thing I knew was that Naru was leaving, she said her good-byes and started walking out, that would have been usual for me in any other circumstances but to me in that very moment, she was getting farter and farter, as if she was slowly and surely walking out of my promise, out of my **life**.

I couldn't take it, I wanted Naru to be a part of my life, I didn't want to lose her, with all the despair and frustration, I managed to pull out enough strength and courage to tell her something… something I had been meaning to tell her but I never grew the spine to.

"**I… I LOVE YOU!"** I shouted from my bed, trying to shift my body so I could try to reach her before she got too far, but I couldn't… I couldn't reach her… but she stopped in her tracks, silently, I could only see her back but I noticed that she had her head looking down on the floor.

Silence reigned; everything seemed to have stopped, frozen. We stayed motionless I don't know for how long, but to me it was an eternity, but I only had to wait, I didn't dare to say more, just wait her reply, I was fighting my anguish the best I could.

The answer never came… she stayed motionless for a while and then… she began to walk away, I felt my anguish grow, she was walking away from me, I couldn't stop now, I had to know that answer!

"**NARU WAIT!"** I called out to her, but it seemed to scare her off, she began to walk even faster trying to reach the door as fast as she could.

'_No… NO!'_ I screamed inside, this couldn't be happening! I had to do something! Something to keep her close to me, I couldn't spoil this or I could lose her!

After that… well, it's funny, its funny how I tend to forget about certain 'details' about myself, but that time I wasn't thinking straight, only one thing was on my mind, 'Get Naru, don't let her leave!'

Without thinking, I got out of my bed as fast as I could, she had just reached the door, I could still catch her, I was wrong… I felt a sharp pain go through my entire leg, and I felt it give off, not being that enough I fell backwards and hit my head hard against the little table besides my bed. It must had been really hard, I remember my vision beginning to cloud, everything was getting blurry but with the last of my strength I looked at the door for the last time… She wasn't there… not anymore.

'Fate truly is a bitch' – I thought before falling into a dark hole in my mind, falling into oblivion.

* * *

**The next day **

**

* * *

  
**

I awoke, feeling dizzy and disoriented, my vision was still blurry but it was clearing slowly, I sat in my bed so I could take a look at my surroundings but I couldn't recognize them.

Just as I was looking around the window, I felt a sharp pain in my head, it seemed that bright light was out of the question for me, I grabbed my head, trying to lessen the pain by rubbing my temples, I did this as a man in white came to my room.

I looked at the man approaching me, he seemed concerned and at the same time angry at me, he ordered me to stay still in the same way a general orders a private so I didn't put any resistance and he started examining me. First, he took my head in his hands and began pressing and touching in certain spots I couldn't recall the name, but it certainly felt horrible, pain was everywhere he touched and checked.

"Hmmm… It seems that you didn't manage to get a great deal of damage, but still that was **one hell of a injury**, you were **lucky**" He told me finally releasing my head, I felt relieved that he was finally over with it… I was being too naive.

"Now, lay down on your bed so I can take a look at your leg…**Again**" The man commanded me, I didn't pull any resistance, hoping that if I could get the doctor in a better mood and maybe, just maybe he would treat my leg better than he did with my head.

The doctor started touching my leg, he started a little above my knee, and he pressed, I didn't feel any pain, he then began pressing downwards until down my knee, I was relieved that I wasn't feeling any pain, but then the doctor told me to hold on to something with my two hands, I didn't get what he meant by that but I found out too soon.

A sharp pain came from my leg, the pain was so bad I wanted to scream and instinctively I grabbed the sides of my bed, I gritted my teeth trying to stifle the scream as much as I could until it was over.

"You were lucky you didn't damage your leg further; you will be able to check out today later after I give you your X-Ray photos from both your head and your leg, but first, you have visitors" The doctor opened the door and I heard many people walk in the room, I tried sitting in the bed so I could greet them.

"Sempai, are you okay?" Was the first thing I heard when I looked at them.

"Keitaro, you should take it easy" Another voice came from the door.

"Yeah! If you are in the hospital, who is going to play with me?" A childish and high pitched voice called my attention.

"Yes dork, you should get back as soon as you can so Kaolla and I can ki… I mean play with you" A voice full of mischief and intent called, I felt a shiver run down my spine at that.

"Yes nephew. You made the doctor pull an all nighter" A familiar voice came from the door.

I was astonished that so many people cared for me their way, but something was bothering me… just trying to figure that out made my head ache, I took one hand to my temple and took my bed's handrail with the other so I could face them even better.

"Everyone, I am sorry that I made you worry, and I am grateful that you are visiting me but…"

"What is it sempai?" The young girl asked me, I saw her worried expression in her face, and a strange light in her eyes… I didn't know what that was, so I just decided to hurry up my question.

A question that hurt everyone in the room.

"Who **are** you people?" Everyone stared at me, their faces showed shock and disbelief, but no one said a word.

* * *

Hey this is my first Love hina fic, so please leave a review to whatever end you find it fit, I must say I wasn't sure if this idea could have a good development but right now I think it shows a lot of promise so I will be doing my best, If you have any suggestions, comments or any ideas, please review, this helps me get better.

PD: I have been thinking for a while and I have a favor to ask you, well I am looking for a Pre-reader to help me polish my chapters and well... If you know of any or anyone wants to be my pre-reader, please contact me. THX

Until Next Chapter ---- BYE !


	2. Chapter II

**Fate**

**Chapter II**

**Disclaimer: Ken Akamatsu is the Owner of Love Hina, this is just a fic**

- '_Thoughts' -_

_- memories -_

_**-'sound effects' -**_

**Important stuff, emphasis**

------------------- Change of scenery, change of character

* * *

Everyone in the room was staring at me but no one said anything, I swear that I could touch the tension in the air and it was starting to suffocate me, I was sure that everyone had understood my question the first time but I asked again, this time I tried using a better set of words.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I can't truly remember anyone of you from somewhere, can you tell me who you are?" I asked again but nothing changed, everyone was tense and still had their eyes on me, I immediately by instinct looked at the man in white… no, the **doctor**, he seemed like the only one to know what was truly going on.

"Well, seeing this, I must explain, but I will only do so to a relative of the patient"

"He is my nephew and I am his closest relative in the area" Replied an Adult woman, she had a serene face and seemed to be dealing with the situation quite coolly.

"Very well, follow me" The doctor opened the door and both of them walked out of the room, leaving me and my visitors alone.

Time passed slowly as everyone in the room was quiet, no one seemed to dare speak a word, I tried to say something but the problem was that I didn't know what to ask or say.

I looked again at everyone's faces, trying to find an excuse, **anything** to break this uncomfortable silence, I couldn't help myself, so I started with the one that looked more troubled among them.

"Is something the matter? I don't like seeing you sad, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" I asked while I was slapping myself mentally, **OF COURSE** something was wrong, but that expression on her face was all I got to start something before even more tension piled up on everyone.

"Se… sempai are you sure you don't remember anything? You don't remember m…**us**?" Asked the girl in a very shy, low and very hurt tone, as if she was on the verge of tears, I didn't want to make anyone cry or sad but I could only reply one thing.

"No… I'm sorry but I don't remember you or anyone else in the room" I answered, that didn't go well, the conversation **looped back** to where it started, but now I had made a terrible **mistake**.

Everyone in the room looked abashed by my answer, and the girl before me tried to hold back the tears but she was fighting a losing battle, before she was unable to hold them back, she stormed out of the room with her hands on her face, I felt my heart broke into pieces when she did that, I felt like a **jerk**.

"**You** Idiot, **you** made **Shinobu** cry!" Said a tall girl with raven black hair, she wore an expression of both disgust and pity when she looked at me. I felt even worse, like if I were some kind of monster for making the young girl cry.

"Shinobu wait!" The black haired girl stormed after her.

"Wait for me **Motoko**!" Said the tanned girl in her high pitched voice, well her voice was not so high this time… it's like she had lost some spirit in it, I don't know but I think that she was very hurt too.

"Hey don't leave me alone with this **jerk**" Another one said, this one younger than the others, her face was showing signs of concern over her friends, she had a face shaped object in her hand which she was holding, fidgeting the weird object with her fingers while looking at me and then the door for several occasions, she finally decided for the door and I let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding.

After she left, only one person and I stayed in the room, she had short grey hair and a very… playful… grin on her face, I didn't know why she was looking at me like that, hell I didn't know why she wasn't angry at me like her friends, and that confused me.

She examined me closely; I felt her eyes studying my face and the bandages on my head, then she proceeded to examine lower, just down below my... wait! _'Wha- what am I thinking?'_

I was suddenly feeling very embarrassed and my head began to warm, definitely a sign that I was flushing.

I tried to say something but in the end nothing came out but babbling, this girl was very daring in her own way and I couldn't help noticing her and her… well… **charms.**

"Aww, are you sure you don't remember me sweetie?" She came closer to me slowly and I gulped, I felt more embarrassed with each step she gave towards me, I don't know but there was something hypnotic about her, overwhelming in her own and subtle way, I tried talking but as before I couldn't say anything coherent.

She approached me even more in a sensual pace and I felt my embarrassment rise, a devilish smile appearing on her lips.

"Don't worry about it though, I can make sure you don't forget me again… **ever**" Her sexy voice captured me, I was completely drawn to her but I don't know how or why but I felt a bit of blood leaving my nose and, at that very moment, we heard someone opening the door and then, she went back to the place she was standing before everyone else left.

"Glad to see that I still have it in me!" The girl grinned with an air of victory on her face. Just as I felt my blush, embarrassment and blood rush to fade, the doctor came back with the mature woman, this time she was smoking a cigarette with a frown on her face, I glanced at the doctor but he seemed kind of… **scared** with what she was doing but now that I think about it, he was more scared of **her.**

"Would you mind to explain, what were you doing with my nephew Kitsune?" The mature girl asked… no… **ordered** politely as she gave another sip to her cigarette.

"Oh come on Haruka, I was just making sure if he remembered me or not" The girl said, glancing back to me and giving me a wink… I blushed as this remembered me what she had done a moment before, at least this time no blood poured out.

'_Well__ that was one hell of a tease'_ I said to myself, not really wanting to say anything to anyone just yet, I don't have any idea of what's going on around me lately.

"So… what's wrong with Keitaro here?" Asked Kitsune with a smirk in her face.

"I will explain to you and everyone when we reach Hinata Sou, right now help me find the others while the doctor gets us a wheel chair and a pair of crutches for him" She commanded and Kitsune didn't reply anything, hell, I was amazed that not even the doctor said anything, this Haruka was a very… convincing person.

The doctor and Kitsune left the room quietly while Haruka stayed behind; she closed the door and looked at me seriously for a minute.

She did nothing while she was staring at me, and I wasn't about to start anything, I had messed up before and made a young girl cry…

"Well, now that we are finally alone, I suppose it's time that the two of us get **reacquainted** with each other" Said Haruka as she moved from the door taking a chair and finally sitting besides me.

"My name is **Urashima Haruka**, nice to meet you" She started the talk, and I was glad that this time I didn't have to start so I followed carefully.

"Nice to meet you too, mi name is… is…" I tried remembering but my head ached every time I tried to recall something.

"**Your **name is **Urashima Keitaro**, **you** and **I** are **relatives**" she said with confidence and patience, and when she did that something triggered within my mind.

"Ah, true, you are my **aunt** right?" I replied as I remembered the little scene a while ago.

I suddenly knew that I had made a terrible mistake, my aunt suddenly gripped her right hand and a big frown showed in her face, and she seemed that she was fighting an urge to do something, but she calmed down, regaining all her cool almost instantly.

"Hmmm… you lose your memory, and I still can't get that **'aunt' habit** out of you" Haruka frowned while giving a long and nursing sip to her cigarette.

"So…Sorry… I'll be more careful next time"

"You do that, I wouldn't want to make any more bumps to that head of yours" She said calmly with a serious face that sent some shivers down my spine, now I understood why Kitsune and the doctor were so 'obedient'.

"Keitaro?"

"Yes?"

"Do you **remember anything** about you?" The question was simple, and yet… too difficult for me at the moment, I tried to remember something, even the slight clue about something but I couldn't, my memories were like a blur and I couldn't make anything out. I gave up when the headache began to return.

"No… every time I try remembering, I only see a blur and my head won't stop aching" That was the only thing I could reply.

"Well… Right now we will take you home and get you settled, maybe some time around familiar surroundings will help to get your memory straight, so I'll be back shortly" Haruka said as she got up and began walking to the door.

"Haruka?" I called her with some uncertainty.

"Hmmm…?" She stood and faced me.

"What happened to me?"

"I don't like to explain things more than once so you will have to wait until we arrive to Hinata Sou, when we get there I will explain it all to you and the others"

"Ok…"

Everything from there on passed quickly, Haruka and the doctor came back and helped me to get settled on a wheelchair and they handed me my new set of crutches, after that, me and Haruka returned to Hinata Sou in her van, but I didn't see any of the girls from the hospital, they were really upset with me.

My aunt parked her van near a set of stairs, she said that that was the only way to get home and that I should start using my crutches, she helped me up the stairs and I noticed that there was a little tea shop along the way, and shortly after we arrived in front of a big building.

"Well Keitaro, Welcome home"

"This is my house? No offense but it looks more like a hotel than a house"

"Yes, this is a female dorm and you are the manager"

"What!"

"Easy now, everyone should have prepared for your arrival by now, so let's meet **your tenants** shall we?"

"Ok…"

"Then let's get going, but now let's try something…"

"Try what?"

"Well, I got that wheelchair rented because I didn't want anything to happen to your head while I got you here, but from now on you will have to get used to your crutches… so… why don't you try them without my help?" She replied swiftly.

"Well if that's the case…" I replied a little unsure of myself.

She helped me to get steady on my own and explained me briefly about using crutches, the most important part was that while moving around them I had to grip them firmly while protecting my broken leg, she told me to take it easy, one step at a time until I got practice, and that I wouldn't be lacking it, because even as hurt as I was, I still had duties around Hinata Sou.

After she finished explaining, I tried using my crutches, my aunt seemed like if she was waiting for something to happen but I got the hang of it pretty fast, using crutches wasn't so difficult after all, in fact, It felt more like playing but I drew to conclusions too early, as I was trying to go up the first set of stairs near the entrance… One of my crutches slipped, I think because of the polished wooden floor, but one second I was walking happily up some stairs and the next thing I felt was like as if I was floating in mid air… backwards to the ground.

The feeling was **familiar… extremely familiar…**

"_Wait!"_A scream echoed inside my head, I felt fear and despair for a split second, and the next a sharp pain in my leg, I gritted my teeth and gripped my clutches to braze for the impact… but I didn't fell, in fact I had stopped… I wondered why and my answer came soon.

"That's why I told you to take one step at a time!" Came the angry voice of Haruka as she pulled out of my daze, she was holding me from my back, trying to keep me from falling and keeping my leg safe.

"Sorry and… Thank you" I murmured as she helped me regain my balance.

"Just be careful because I won't do it again, I will be waiting inside so hurry up!" An angry response was all I got, but still… I was grateful.

I hurriedly went inside the inn, this time I was sure to move around carefully, I entered a room which I was pretty sure it was the living room, my aunt and the girls who came to visit me were all there, standing in front of me… looking at me.

Unsure of what I should do, I looked back at them, but this time the little silence that followed wasn't all about tension, it felt like uncertainty but at the same time I was happy… I don't know why but I was just happy, and I didn't feel uncomfortable anymore, it felt like home…

No one spoke a word but no one needed to, my aunt took everything in her hands.

"Keitaro, these are your tenants, you will be living among them as their manager and you will have responsibilities towards them, as they have some towards you"

"Thank you Haruka" She gave me a pleased nod and I followed her lead.

"Everyone, my name is Urashima Keitaro and I am your manager, nice to meet you" I bowed courteously or at least I tried (damned crutches) and I smiled, I didn't know why but I just did.

Everyone still had a confused look on their faces, but this time they were not shocked, they were more like… hesitant, like waiting for someone to follow but no one really dared, or at least not right away.

Hanging in the back of the raven haired tenant, a little girl, around 12 years of age climbed down from the other's tenant's back and came forward me, she was short and slim, with blond hair and green eyes, her skin was tanned, she was from another country I was sure of it.

She examined me closely, her eyes were focused as she was examining me from all directions, going in circles, now that I think of it, she was examining me like a scientist examines a test subject, but I didn't mind, she was a kid after all.

"You really look like Keitaro…" She said once she finished examining me with her sight, she was now standing before me and she moved her hands towards my face, I bowed a little to let her reach it more easily, not really thinking what I was doing, I just complied.

She touched my cheeks gently with both hands and she moved them a little upwards my face, then she pressed my nose gently with her thumbs, I don't know why she was doing this, but things where starting to get a little… uncomfortable but what happened next, I admit that even if I knew her, I would never see that coming.

Just before I tried to ask her what she was doing, she suddenly started pulling my cheeks… **hard!** She didn't held back either, she tried to stretch them as if she was trying to pull the skin out of my face! I felt like I was losing my balance so I had no choice but to try to staying steady while withstanding the little girl, but suddenly as she had begun, she finished, and for that, she climbed towards my back and stayed in 'piggy ride' while she snuggled her face against my head.

"Yeah you are definitely Keitaro, not a random spy!" She said while she snuggled against my head, I didn't know what she meant about spy, but surely it was just a game of hers… a very painful game if you ask me.

"My name is Su Kaolla, nice to meet you again Keitaro!" She said in her high pitched voice, she was really energetic now but at least she didn't try anything that could make me lose balance so I left her stay.

Even if she didn't mean it, she seemed to brighten the mood a lot, the tenants were not longer hesitant about introducing (or re-introduce?) themselves once again.

After Su, the next one to re-introduce herself was another little girl, she was around nine years of age, her name was Sarah MacDougal, she seemed a little annoyed because she called me dork many times, but in the end she was well behaved and as a bonus she wasn't carrying that face shaped object from earlier, so I couldn't really complain.

'_**Cough, cough'**_A voice nearby cleared her throat, I looked directly at the source of that voice, it was the raven haired girl. Once she knew that she had my attention she introduced herself.

"My name is Aoyama Motoko, nice to meet you" She said being very formal, maybe she was just a little shy, she seemed a lot more reserved than everyone else… well except for Haruka.

"I must also tell you, that even though you are the manager, I don't tolerate any 'strange' act that goes beyond you duties with any of the tenants, do you understand?" She said that with a neutral face as she reached her left side, touching what it seemed to be a sheath… sword included… I gulped and nodded in understanding, definitely I wouldn't enjoy rubbing her the wrong way or I would enjoy the coldness of steel pressed against my skin.

Trying to find anything to change the subject, I eyed another of the tenants; there were just two of them left.

"I bet you haven't forgotten me since this morning right hun?" Said the gray haired girl, I knew her from this morning… my aunt called her Kitsune.

I blushed and turned my face to avoid looking at her directly, but if I had seen her, I knew that she would have that victorious grin in her face, her 'trademark'.

"Kitsune!" The raven haired girl screamed while trying to hide a blush while giving me an 'I'll deal with you later' glare that made me shiver, but somehow I felt that at least at that time I was safe.

"Easy, easy Motoko dear, Keitaro here did nothing… after all I did everything back there…" She said as she winked at me… I don't know how or why she pulls this, but she really enjoys teasing… worst is that it seems to work on me pretty well; her victory was my embarrassment.

"Well… whatever, my names's Konno Mitsune, and as you have figured out, everyone here calls me Kitsune, so nice to meet ya!" Kitsune **finally **introduced herself and I felt relieved, no more teasing! For a while...

"Su, would you get down from Keitaro's shoulders? I think that he needs to take it easy right now" Said my aunt, as she seemed to understand my predicament.

Su suddenly climbed out of my shoulders like an acrobat and went straight back to Motoko's, I felt relieved that she was no longer on my shoulders, moving around in crutches carrying a girl is not easy.

"Well now that I've introduced myself, I will be on the roof" Motoko said as Su seemed to enjoy the idea.

"Well hun, I will be leaving to my room if you need me…" Kitsune said as she winked at me.

They both left the room with Motoko carrying Su and Sarah following close behind, that would leave only one more tenant to meet… and suddenly I felt awkward, awkward as I recognized the girl.

She was the girl that I made cry this morning.

I felt suddenly ashamed when greeting the girl, whatever happened in the morning should not had happened… some time passed and no one talked, the girl seemed really drawn and shy, her eyes were eagerly looking at me and there was a little blush in her cheeks… maybe she was still upset? Sad? A little of both maybe.

I didn't know the answer but I knew that I needed to apologize.

"I am sorry" I started

"Huh?" Her face was very confused, she wasn't expecting me to talk or at least apologize right out of the blue.

"Sorry that I made you cry, I didn't mean to, really…" I apologized to her, and I bowed.

"N… no that's ok sempai, I… I am sorry, I just… didn't know" She said as she turned her face shyly in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it; my name is Urashima Keitaro, nice to meet you"

"I… I am Shinobu Maehara, nice to meet you too" She bowed courteously and then stormed out of the room; I couldn't help but feel that I had done something wrong again.

"Don't worry Keitaro, she is like this" My aunt said with confidence.

I looked at her, giving her a 'I am not so sure' look to her, she didn't seem to mind, one thing about her is that she always seems so strong and confident… I am lucky to have an aunt like her.

"Well now that you have met the most of the tenants it's time I show you your room, follow me"

"Ok"

I followed my aunt to a room in the first floor, the room seemed tidy but there were not many things in it… strange.

"Well this is your room, not quite much but still yours"

"Thank you Haruka"

"Well, maybe after you rest you could take a look at those books over there, they contain all the information about Hinata Sou and the tenants, so take it easy ok?"

"Ok… Haruka?"

"Yeah?" She looked at me while waiting for my question.

"What do you mean by 'I've met most of the residents here'?"

"There is still one more tenant here in Hinata Sou but right now she is at College, also there is another person that is not a tenant but she is still your friend. I will bring her to dinner so you can finish meeting everyone; I will also explain everything at that time… so just rest for now ok?"

I nodded, and she closed the door behind me, I was completely alone in my room now and she was right… all this made me feel tired. I laid on my futon and I closed my eyes, it wasn't long before I fell asleep, I was completely drained…

* * *

'_**Knock, knock' **_

"Sempai, are you there?"

I heard those words in my head as if they came from far away, I heard the same words again and I felt myself waking up to them but I didn't answer, I tried sitting on my futon and get rid of my tiredness by stretching my arms.

"Come on in" I finally replied as someone knocked the door again, the girl opened the door a little bit and entered the room.

"Oh, hi Shinobu!" I greeted.

"Hello Sempai… hmmm… dinner is ready and everyone is waiting, do you want to join us?"

"Sure"

I tried getting up but I found that it was not easy, a broken leg didn't help much, I tried using one foot but I gave up, I needed some support; I will have to get something to get a hold on before I sleep again.

Seeing my problem, Shinobu shyly offered me some help, help that I gladly accepted, she helped me by bringing my study table close to me and with that as a support, she placed one of my arms around her shoulder and helped me up and get steady with one crutch, after that she just handled me the other.

As soon as she made sure that I was steady, she waited for me at my door, closing it as I exited my room, I followed her to the kitchen, and just as Haruka promised, everyone had gathered there. I saw the two new faces sitting at the other side of the table one should be the last tenant of the house and the other one should be the friend Haruka spoke of.

I didn't speak first, everything was quiet and everyone was staring at me… again, it seemed that I was the hot topic of the day but with all that attention I felt uncomfortable, I eyed my aunt as if waiting for a sign if I should begin or wait for her to say something... she seemed to catch the idea.

"Well let's just have dinner, shall we?" She said to me, the two new faces eyeing me strangely, one girl had brown hair and a motherly expression on her face, I saw her and I relaxed, she seemed like the carefree type, and yet, reserved and calm, the other one had brunette hair and a suspicious expression on her face, I turned to face her but she seemed to be avoiding me… she seemed upset and uncomfortable when I looked at her, even if just for an instant.

Dinner passed and everything was delicious, I asked who the chef was and Shinobu blushed in embarrassment… Shinobu cooks really good food... and then the two remaining girls looked at me with suspicion, especially the brunette, she glared at me with some 'intent' or maybe I should describe it as 'territorial'? Nah... That couldn't be it.

After that little glare, I looked away from her, and then I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, it was my aunt's and I understood what she meant.

"Well everyone, thank you for the dinner, and even though that I have already been introduced with most of the residents, I'd like to reintroduce myself once more" I said, not really sure how I should have started this, but at least I hadn't messed up, at least not yet.

"My name is Urashima Keitaro and I am glad to meet you all, I will do my best as your manager, if you need anything please don't hesitate to ask"

Everyone seemed well at this statement, but something was not right… especially with Kitsune, she seemed to be checking on the brunette many times with a worried expression, like if something were to happen.

"What is this idiot up to?" The brunette murmured as she gave me another suspicious glare, I'd better finish this quickly, or I will start babbling.

"I've already met most of the residents, but you two, can you tell me who you are?" I asked, quickly and with no hitting around the bush, not quite tactful but it did the job.

Both girls watched me in disbelief the brown haired girl seemed confused but the other one seemed… irritated, angry and at the same time confused but she didn't do anything, she just grabbed her mug of tea with some force.

"Ara, ara, what's wrong Kei-kun? Don't you recognize us?" The brown haired spoke softly and carefree, she seemed confused but interested…

"Yes, you'd better not be playing around Keitaro" The brunette warned me, she tried to show a calm composure but she wasn't doing very well.

At those questions there was only thing I could reply, 'Sorry but I don't remember you' but I had already tried that earlier and… well we all know how it went, I was at a complete loss.

"Well I think it is me who owns you all an explanation" Haruka said as she stood behind me giving a sip to her cigarette, everyone, and myself included looked at her with rapt attention.

"Yesterday around midnight, the nurse found Keitaro unconscious on the floor near his bed, the doctors don't know how it happened, but he had hit his head pretty hard" Everyone seemed serious at that moment, and so I was, after all she was explaining everything that happened to me in the last 24 hours.

"Anyway, he was lucky that he didn't damage his leg or his head badly but the impact was enough to send him unconscious, causing him temporary amnesia"

"Amnesia? The brunette said with disbelief, she griped her tea mug harder"

"Yes, he doesn't remember anyone or anything of his past and therefore he needs your names and a little patience" Haruka said sipping her cigarette, giving both girls a serious look.

"Ara… if that's the case, my name is Otohime Mutsumi, nice to meet you again Kei-kun" Mutsumi said with a warm smile on her face, I couldn't help but smiling back at her.

"Well, I am Narusegawa Naru… nice to… **meet** you" Naru said, her face was frowning as she tried not to look at me while introducing herself, it was a little forced self introduction, something about me was bothering her.

"It's good to meet you Narusegawa" I tried being as polite as I could, if something was wrong, I definitely wasn't going to make it any worst.

"Humph" Was all she could manage, she had a serious expression on her face, but she couldn't hide the slight frown on her face, she was angry at me… I didn't know why but I felt that asking her right now would not be a good idea.

She was gripping her tea mug too hard now, I could tell because her knuckles were turning white and the mug seemed to be on its limits, she stayed silently as if she was contemplating something, maybe the situation?

After a while she just said her 'Good nights' to everyone, leaving as quickly as she could so no one could ask or say anything.

After that, a deadly silence fell upon the dinner hall, Kitsune just threw her arms backwards and letting out of a sigh of relief while she was finding the ceiling interesting for a while, she then left to her room.

Afterwards everything went on peacefully, Shinobu offered to wash the dishes as Motoko and Su left for their rooms with Sarah following a bit after; my aunt and Mutsumi said their goodbyes as they left the inn.

I stayed lost in thought for a while; whatever happened today was sure to be just the beginning of something new… I just didn't know how big it would be but I was sure it involved everyone in the house… maybe some others from the outside… but I had to deal with it as it came… not that I had a choice really.

"Sempai…"

"Huh?" Shinobu voice pulled me from my thoughts

"I am done washing the dishes; if you don't mind I will be going to my room, do you need any help?"

"Oh no, I am ok; I am just not so tired after sleeping for a while before, Thank you"

"Ok then, Good night… sempai"

"Good night Shinobu" And she retreated back to her room.

I stayed awake thinking back at everything that had happened to me in the last 24 hours, everything before that time seemed like a blur and I couldn't recall, but at least today went well with everyone… or at least it seemed that way.

After some time, I decided that it had been enough for the day and I headed to my room, this time I pulled the table in my room near my futon, I would need it in the morning.

* * *

Well this is all for chapter two, thanks to everyone for their kind reviews, I can only ask them to review again, and if you haven't reviewed and you like this story, please do so, all reviews are acceptable.

--- Until Chapter 3 ! ---


	3. Chapter III

**Fate**

**Chapter III**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Love Hina, it is property of Ken Akamatsu.

- '_Thoughts' -_

_- memories -_

_**-'sound effects' -**_

**Important stuff, emphasis**

------------------- Change of scenery, change of character

* * *

I woke up in the morning feeling tired; I didn't have a good night, mostly because of my cast. I rested for a while but when I moved in my sleep… to say it tactfully, my cast made its presence known waking me up almost instantly, worst of all is that trying not to move while sleeping is not really sleeping at all, or at least you don't rest the same way.

I sat up in my futon and I checked the back of my head, first off I only rubbed the back of my neck but I felt curious about the bump on my head. So slowly and carefully I began touching and rubbing near that area, rubbing slowly upwards until finally touching the bump itself.

'_Ouch_' the bump didn't bother me anymore but it still was a little… 'Touchy?' but with time it would go away, for a moment I wished that my memories did the opposite, but I knew that there was no way to rush things… that was going to take a while.

'_Time to get going'_ nothing was going to happen if I just lurked in my room, and I had stuff to do… first off was knowing my own home.

I got up, this time using my room's table for support while managing with my crutches; I was still clumsy but I was getting the hang of it, I didn't bother picking up my futon, it was hard enough to get up and I wasn't about to get down and fix it, maybe later but not now.

I got out of my room, not really knowing where to go… everything was new… well, not exactly new, this was supposed to be my home; I tried remembering but the blur and the headache were still there. If I couldn't remember anything then I would have to start over, maybe from the living room and so on…

I went directly to the living room, someone was there; I didn't see her because she was lying on the couch watching TV but as I drew closer she stretched and faced me, it was Kitsune.

"Hey Keitaro. Good morning!" She said waiving at me, she was cheerful and a little blushed, I didn't know why but as I drew closer I saw a bottle of sake on the table, surely she had some before I arrived.

"Good morning Ms. Konno" I greeted formally.

"No, no, no, just call me Kitsune dear, I like that the most" She corrected me instantly, she seemed very proud of her nickname 'Kitsune' and I suddenly got the feeling that it was related to her yesterday antics.

"Ok, Kitsune it is then, hmm… what are you doing?" I asked, trying to get to know (or remember) her.

"Me? Well I am just watching the horse races while having a little sake, want some?" She offered me a cup while she pointed to a seat with her head.

I considered her offer for a second, but then I realized that crutches plus alcohol was not going to be a good mix and besides…

'_**Grumble'**_My stomach complained loudly, I could tell because Kitsune just raised an eyebrow while looking at me, I felt embarrassed.

"So you are going to the Kitchen then? I think Shinobu left you some leftovers from today's breakfast"

"Huh? Leftovers? What time is it?"

"Why, it's just a little before twelve, you sure overslept today"

"Oh, no wonder why I am starving then, you already got breakfast?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss Shinobu's food for the world but you should be careful with Naru's, you could end up in intensive care for that"

"Thanks for the advise, well I'll get going" I left the living room, smiling.

"See ya!"

After that I decided to get some of those leftovers Shinobu left me, I remembered yesterday's dinner and if those leftovers were just as half as good, I was in for a treat.

I entered the kitchen and I went straight for the fridge, I rummaged a little around its contents until I found today's breakfast leftovers, but there was a problem… they were already cold.

First I thought of calling Kitsune for help but then I decided to explore things on my own. I began looking for a pan and cooking utensils, exploring the new kitchen carefully. I made mental notes on where each thing was until I found everything I needed.

Putting everything near me so I wouldn't have to move around much, I glanced at the utensils with a little uncertainty, scanning them many times; so far I was doing well but right now it was the time for the truth.

I lighted the stove and I placed the frying pan and waited for it to get warm, afterwards I just poured the leftovers and I stirred them from time to time, making sure I didn't burn them.

As I moved in the kitchen, I seemed to be moving around quite… naturally; of course my crutches bothered me but… I don't know… I felt like a fish in water, I never imagined that cooking would feel so… usual.

"Hmmm, smells good Keitaro" A voice came from behind me.

"Thanks Kitsune but you know; it's just because Shinobu is a great cook"

"Yes, that's true but I thought that you would be having more trouble moving around… you know, losing your memory and all"

"Well yes… you have a point, but I don't know, it feels more like instinct than anything"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that as I cooked… I don't know but it felt natural, as if I did this many times before"

"Yeah you did. When Shinobu is too busy you fix dinner, but usually Shinobu is the cook"

"Oh…" I said is I tried to recall any memories of Shinobu but to no avail, maybe doing things that I used to do with the tenants would be a good idea.

"What's on your mind?" Kitsune's voice seemed interested.

"Well my aunt told me that some time around 'familiar surroundings' would help me get my memory straight, so… maybe expending time with you and the tenants could help"

"That makes sense…" Said Kitsune after considering my words for a little while, she seemed concerned about something but I didn't know what.

"So now… what's on your mind?" I asked her, now it was her turn to answer.

"Oh nothing really…I was just thinking about… nah it's not important, sorry" It seemed that whatever she was thinking about, she wouldn't discuss it with me right away…

Afterwards, there was just silence; I didn't know what to say next… I was out of ideas… so I kept cooking until the food was ready, everything was silent and appeased and yet… uncomfortable… so I tried something.

"Ok…well… say…" I asked trailing off a little.

"Hmmm? What is it Keitaro?" Catching Kitsune's attention to me, I tried to get something going.

"Well I prepared too much for me alone, do you want some?"

"What are you talking about? It's a little much but it should be a good portion for you"

"But it should be a little past twelve by now right? If I eat all that by myself I won't be hungry for supper"

Kitsune raised and eyebrow when I said that but I didn't mind, it was that or stay silent, I wanted to talk with the residents as much as I could, maybe I could get my memories faster…

"Well that's a very good reason but you know, usually no one eats supper here, they have school so we usually just eat breakfast and dinner together"

"Oh…" I felt a little disappointed but she was right, all the girls had to attend school and they had their own business until dinner...

I started eating my share of the leftovers while Kitsune got out of the room, returning a little while later, she placed an empty bottle in the trash can and then proceeded to rummage the cupboards searching for something, I was amused to see her search with so much effort.

She finally found what she was looking for, pulling another bottle of sake from the depths of the cupboard. She grinned in victory as she held it like a trophy.

"He, he, no matter what Haruka tries, she can't hide these from me" She said mischievously, I couldn't help it but to smirk.

"Hey, what are you smiling at, eh?" She said as she grinned widely, trying to savor her victory even more.

"Oh nothing, I just thought that you looked like a kid with a new toy as you held that bottle" I said as I was eating the last of my food.

"Oh…"She stayed as if she were lost in her own mind for a second "Ha ha ha ha ha, I guess you are right Keitaro, after all Sake is one of the things I enjoy the most"

Opening the bottle of sake, she poured some of it in a cup and gave it a good long sip, she seemed to enjoy every drop of sake, and she let out a sigh in satisfaction for her deed.

"Well I am off to the couch if you need me, see ya!"

"See ya!"

Feeling my stomach full and happy because of Shinobu's cooking, I started to clean the dishes and pots I used; I started to think about cooking... maybe if I tried cooking something… I could recall even more of myself! But what should I try… Pasta? Sandwiches? Chocolate?

"_Chocolate… for… you" I saw a girl offering me an envelope, I couldn't see her face… everything was still blurry and distorted, as in pieces… who was that girl?_

Once again, I had the feeling of something familiar rushing through my mind… funny I don't know from where I got the idea of cooking chocolate, but surely that had triggered something… even for just an instant.

I tried to get back to my labor, maybe if I kept it up I could still keep remembering, but I was wrong, everything from there on was normal… man, for a second there I thought I was remembering something important.

I turned back to the dishes, not really putting effort into it, I was still dazed about that memory, but suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by another visitor… a very annoying visitor.

A fly.

That thing hovered near my glasses, pulling me from my thoughts, at first I didn't pay attention to it but after a while it began to bother me… it just wouldn't stop hovering around me, sometimes landing on my glasses, some other time on my hair, I tried to scare it away but it was so persistent…

After I washed the last dish, I looked around for it, I was determined to get that fly off me, I opened the kitchen window and I started to scare the fly away but to no avail, I was just too slow and too clumsy.

I was getting tired of it; I was about to give it up but when I saw it landing next to me, near the sink, just within my hand reach… I knew I had a golden opportunity.

Rising my hand slowly, I watched the little fly as it moved idly, without a worry in the whole world… I waited patiently for the right moment… it could be any second…

'_**Now!'**_

I slammed my hand in the sink, just where the fly was, for a second I thought I had it but in the very last second, the darned thing flew away, I ended up slamming the sink hard, **very hard.**

I closed my eyes as I waved my hand, trying to ease the pain but just to hear it hovering around me once again. In my despair I tried grabbing it, but instead I grabbed something else… I grabbed something soft instead, **soft and warm…**

"Oh Keitaro, you are so forward…" A sexy and playful voice called out to me.

I opened my eyes, finally realizing where my hand rested… I was frozen for a second until I realized what I was doing.

"Ack! Sorry Kitsune, I didn't mean to!" I pulled my hand back, I tried to bow in apologize but I was very clumsy, I lost my balance and I would had fell if Kitsune hadn't grabbed me.

"Hey… you should take it easy there, what was that racket a minute ago?"

"Sorry… I was trying to scare off a fly and well… you can imagine what happened…" she looked at me, as if analyzing what I had told her, she didn't seem very convinced at what I had said but as she saw that damned fly landing on my head… I think she finally believed me.

"Well… maybe that lousy fly will go away if you take a bath…" She said as she smirked.

When she said that it dawned me something I hadn't realized… I hadn't taken a bath in the hospital and in all the time I was in Hinata sou…

'_I stink'_ Was all I could think of, I felt a little embarrassed by the fact that someone had to tell me that, but I had to ask Kitsune something.

"Herr… Kitsune… where is the bath?"

She grinned as she guided me trough the house, going to the third floor, she opened a door that led to a little terrace, there was an improvised little bath with a little… bathtub? No, it was a lot less than that…

I stared a little at the 'bath' before me as I turned back to Kitsune, she only raised her hands in an 'I can't help it' fashion as she stood in the doorway and after I examined the bathroom, she glanced at me before she closed the door, leaving me in privacy.

Sitting in a little bank in a corner, I undressed myself, I filled some buckets with water as I searched for my bathing stuff… the only problem was that it wasn't anywhere in sight, its got to be all the way back to my room.

Realizing that, I couldn't help but release a long sigh, I was about to start changing back into my clothes until I heard a knock on the door.

"Keitaro, it's Kitsune, I brought you some bathing stuff from your room. I'll leave them in the entrance" She said that as she opened the door a little and slid the contents in the room, I was really thankful to her, and without losing any time, I went straight to pick them up.

"Do you need a hand over there, maybe two?" She said as I was walking back to the 'bathtub' and I think I reacted just the way she wanted, I dropped everything I was holding.

"N… No, no, thanks Kitsune!"I said in embarrassment as I picked up my stuff, I tried being as fast as I could but I was just being clumsy, I almost tripped as I went back to the bathtub.

"Well… I'll be in my room if you need me…" And with that, I heard her footsteps until they vanished, and I finally relaxed…

Now back to my bath…

I realized that bathing with a cast was not as easy as I thought, the thing is that I can't get the cast wet… meaning that I need to wash myself 'in parts', taking a little water as I washed my head, then my arms, my legs (well… one leg and a half). And after a while I was done, it had been difficult to move, but there was no one to help me in this one.

'_Do you need a hand over there, Maybe two?'_ I remembered Kitsune's proposal a little while ago and for a second I really considered to have accepted her help…

An image came vivid in my head as I imagined Kitsune rubbing my back, I couldn't help but to remember the soft sensation of her skin as I recalled the little incident before…

'_Aggh what am I thinking!'_ I was just lucky that Kitsune didn't slap me back there and here I am fantasizing, I need to focus… I need to push it out of my mind… I **need cold water.**

After my bath, I went straight back to my room, not really knowing what to do but to change into new clothes, as I entered I felt a little out of place, even though this was my room, I felt like a stranger…

I rummaged around my room until I found myself a new change of clothes, it wasn't very difficult to find them since I didn't have much stuff besides my clothes, just a book crammed bookshelf, study table, a closet with some drawers and… that was it. I shuddered as I realized how little I knew about myself… maybe my aunt could help me...

I examined my bookshelf but I didn't find much more than textbooks, one thing was certain; I was a student and a manager, but what else? I searched the bookshelf once again and I discovered two books, one of them was the tenants' profiles and the other… a sticker collection?

I began rummaging through my sticker album, there were all kinds of photo stickers in it but… something was not right, in all the stickers it was just me… no family, no friends…

I rummaged trough all the pages faster, giving the album a quick look as I looked for something different, but in all pages it was all the same, it was just me… until I got to the very end of it, the last two used pages.

There was just one sticker in each page, but I immediately noticed why, there were the only two stickers in which I was not alone… in those were me and Narusegawa.

"Narusegawa…" I muttered in a low voice as I reached the tenant profiles, I searched for her profile but I didn't find anything unusual, just her data like age, blood type, her phone number, etc.

I looked at the others tenants profiles but it was all the same, seems that I didn't make any notes about them somewhere and if I did, I didn't remember where I kept them… there were no shortcuts, I had to meet the tenants one by one.

And I knew who I was going to start with.

* * *

Hello, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry I took so long to publish but its better late than never right?

If you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review, and if you have done it in the past please review again, if you didn't like this chapter... send me a review to let me know.

I'd like to thank Havenoname for Pre-reading this chapter. THANKS MAN! This chapter turned out much better thanks to you

Until Chapter 4

– Jkaitz –


	4. Chapter IV

**Fate **

**Chapter IV**

"Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship." Oscar Wilde

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina or any of the characters, they are all propierty of Ken Akamatsu.

- '_Thoughts' -_

_- memories -_

_-__**'sound effects' -**_

**Important stuff, emphasis**

------------------- Change of scenery, change of character

* * *

After I decided on what I had to do, I got out of my room with the tenants profiles in one hand and so, with newfound esteem, my field trip around Hinata Sou resumed.

First off I started with the second floor, thanks to the book; I realized that Kitsune's room was just next to mine and Shinobu's was at the east end of the corridor, after that I went up to the third floor.

Narusegawa's room was above mine, Su Kaolla's room was just above Shinobu's and Motoko's room was besides Kaolla's, Sarah's room was on this floor too…

I looked around the third floor and I came upon a terrace, there were some clothes drying in the sun. I walked to the end of the terrace and I was amazed.

The view from Hinata Sou was spectacular!

"_He__, he, this is my favorite spot" I saw a girl standing above the main building roof; I stared at her as the wind played with her hair._

And once again, for the second time of the day my mind seemed to be remembering, each memory was pleasant, but I couldn't recognize anyone...I leaned against the handrail; trying to put my thoughts in order, after all I only needed time to get my memories back but how long would it be?

'_I don't know'_

That was the only answer I could think of, but I was sure that I was doing fine, all these memories flowing back to me today encouraged me… but I had the feeling that something was wrong, I couldn't place my finger on it but it began after I checked my room…

"Good afternoon Sempai!" I felt someone placing their hand on my shoulder and I jumped out of my wits...

I turned around and I saw Shinobu behind me, she looked surprised and I don't blame her, I... I let out a cry when she greeted me...

"So, you are back from school already?" I said, still a bit shocked

"Y…Yes sempai, I was going to check the laundry, but if I am bothering you…"

"Ah, no, no, you aren't bothering me at all Shinobu, You surprised me that's all"

"Hmm… Ok…"

And with that, Shinobu bowed slightly and started to check the laundry, if the cloth was dry enough, she picked it up, fold it and then place it in a basket she was carrying. I kept looking at her working for a while before I spoke.

"Can I help you with that?" I felt bad to just look at her working while I just watched.

"N… No thank you sempai" She answered shyly, as she started working a bit faster.

"Huh? Why not?" I tried pushing it a little more… maybe she wouldn't take my help because she was shy?

"Well… it's… it's everyone's clothes and…hmmm" She couldn't say anymore and she didn't need to, I looked at the clothes with more attention and I realized that there was all kind of clothes… underwear included.

"Oh…" I said as I turned my head away from the clothes in embarrassment as she did the same, none of us talked at all, we just tried not to look at each other, doing nothing.

After some time, I tried doing something but I felt... **awkward**, and I could tell she felt the same but both of us did nothing… embarrassment taking the best of us.

"Ah, well… Your cooking was really good today Shinobu!" I rubbed the back of my head as I said the first thing that popped into my mind.

"It was nothing sempai, I am glad that you and the others liked it"

"Yeah, it was so good that I nearly ate the dishes!"

"He, he, then I'll cook something really good tonight!" She said happily as the humor lifted, but as soon as I tried to say something else, a strong wave of wind passed trough the terrace, shaking the clothes and threatening to take a few away before stopping. As if this was some kind of warning, Shinobu nodded to the laundry and I understood what she meant, I nodded in reply as she turned back to her chore.

She resumed her work, doing it a lot faster than before and this time without checking if the clothes were completely dry or not, she was determined to finish with all the clothes in one go. Knowing that she wouldn't take my help, I looked into the sky. I didn't notice before but it seemed like it was about to rain… I kept staring instinctively at the sky, my mind drifting as I felt uneasy...

"Is Something wrong sempai?" Shinobu's worried voice called me back to reality; I looked back at her before speaking.

"Oh, nothing, it just seems like it's going to rain soon…" I said as Shinobu looked at me, with the same look she gave me back at the hospital… the same glint in her eyes…

"Hmmm… sempai, do you need anything?" She said as she tried to keep her eyes away from me, shifting uncomfortably. Seeing her like that, I realized that I had been staring at her for too long, I looked somewhere else before answering.

"No, nothing Shinobu, sorry"

"No! Don't be Sempai, I am done with the laundry so I will see you at dinner!"

I said nothing as Shinobu lifted the basket and tried to leave the terrace as fast as she could but something was wrong, that basket was so... bulky.

Without giving it a second thought, I tried to get to Shinobu as fast as I could, and my instincts were right. Just as she got to the door frame, she tripped and launched the basket into mid air, spreading all of its contents as she began to fall. I tried to reach out for her, but as I grabbed her hand, I lost my balance and fell along with her, clothes scattering all around us.

"Ow" I complained as I looked back to Shinobu, she was rubbing her side as she turned to look at me.

"Shinobu, are you alright?" I looked at her and she didn't look hurt, she was about to answer me but she suddenly stopped; she looked shocked as she stared at me. I was confused, she didn't look hurt, I wasn't hurt but something was not well, she kept staring at me, doing nothing, saying nothing, was there something on my face?

"Shinobu what's wrong? I can't tell if you don't say something" I asked as I instinctively rubbed the back of my head.

She didn't have to answer as I felt something on top of my head, I grabbed the weird object and I froze as I held it in front of me. It was Shinobu's underwear… it had her name knitted into it and a cute drawing in the back... a **bear.**

Shocked about my finding, I looked back at Shinobu and now her embarrassment was at the peak. I was speechless and I don't know why I didn't drop the damned thing, but a second later I saw Shinobu's eyes water and then, before she broke out, she was sprinting all the way back to her room.

"Shinobu wait! I am sorry!" I saw Shinobu's figure go down the stairs, I got up clumsily and followed after her to apologize but I never had the chance.

"What's going on here Urashima! What have you done to Shinobu!" An angry voice came from the corridor, just from where Shinobu passed before me... It was Motoko.

I stopped dead in my tracks, and I saw Motoko's figure coming towards me, she stopped to examine me for a second and then... she unsheathed her blade.

"Urashima... YOU!" I saw Motoko's angry face as her right eye began to twitch, I remembered yesterday's 'introduction' as I realized that I was still holding Shinobu's underwear.

"N…No… NO! It's not what it looks like!"

Too late, I knew it when I felt a strange force coming towards me, launching me to the other side of the hall, the odd thing is that I didn't feel any pain, well, not until I collided with the wall or better said, **into** the wall.

"Ugh" Was the only thing I managed to mutter before feeling something cold pressed against my throat, I looked up and I saw Motoko's angry face looking down on me, feeling dazed with the impact, I could barely hear what she said.

"It's just your second day out of the hospital and you are already into your perverted ways Urashima!"

"So… sorry Ms. Aoyama, it was an accident!" I almost screamed, feeling nauseous and dizzy, as if the whole world was made of gelatin.

"I don't believe you! You ALWAYS have these 'accidents' Urashima, don't expect me to go easy on your transgressions just because you have an injury!"

"Of course not, I am sorry Motoko!" She kept staring at me, judging my words.

We both stayed that way for several minutes, only some falling pieces of rubble dared to make any sound, we stayed like that until Motoko drew back her sword with a stoic face.

"Very well, but remember Urashima... No funny business, or else…"

"No ma'am !" I felt relieved as I gathered my crutches and stared getting up; I wasn't doing pretty well... the world kept moving hazily around me.

"Here" Motoko helped me regain my footing, I hesitated a little, but I took her help with pleasure (and very carefully), the only thing I wanted right now was to lay down in my room until everything was back to normal. I didn't get too far as the dizziness and one little piece of rubble worked together to make me trip, I waved my hands as I looked for anything to grab on to.

And I happened to find Motoko's Gi…

The girl reacted fast as she felt her clothes loosen, she looked at me with an expression of disbelief and disappointment as my mind seemed to come to a complete halt.

"Urashima, you never learn do you!"

I did nothing, I said nothing, I just stood motionless as I felt another wave push me harder, this time not into a wall, but this time I was flying through the window, where to? I didn't know.

But definitely the view from here was far better than from the terrace...

I landed in a nearby forest, how my cast managed to remain unharmed was a mystery to me, but I felt that I really didn't want to know. I looked around and I realized that I didn't know where I was. I started moving, trying to recall the direction from which I came (or flew), until I managed to get to a small clearing from which I could see Hinata sou not too far away.

_'That was quite a blow...'_ I looked back at the sky and saw the rain clouds looming threateningly in the sky, I had to get back as soon as I could, if my cast got wet, it would need replacement, and seeing that doctor again was not something I was looking forward to; I increased my pace as much as I could but moments later, the rain started pouring gently in the forest, I felt desperate as I tried searching for the Sou once more, it couldn't be too far away now.

I kept going and I came to an abandoned storehouse, from where I saw Hinata Sou not too far away from there, I considered my chances but in the end, the rain got worse and I had no choice but to get into the storehouse, there were some leaks on the roof, but I was able to find a dry spot, I sat there and tried to get myself comfortable, I tried to think of something to pass the time, but nothing came to my mind.

_'I hope the rain stops soon'_ I had some things to do, I truly needed to talk to Narusegawa and also I needed to apologize to Shinobu and Motoko... I couldn't help it as the memories replayed in my head.

"_I don't believe you, You ALWAYS have these 'accidents' Urashima!" _Motoko's words bothered me, as she said it, it seemed that I was always doing those kind of things to the girls...

'_What kind of person am I?' _The question echoed heavily in my mind as I tried remembering about me, my own stuff didn't tell anything, and I only had a lead for that.

'_Narusegawa...'__- _The only person besides my aunt that seemed to know about me, I felt an urge to talk to her… to know about myself, In fact... talking to her was the only thing I could think of and when she arrived from college, that would be the first thing I'd do when I get home.

Many hours passed before the rain finally started to let of, I carefully looked outside before finally resuming my way back home. It was already night, the moon shone brightly behind Hinata Sou, giving the old inn an eerie and mystical feeling that captured me for a second before I walked to the entrance just to find no one, I went to the kitchen but no luck either, only some dirty dishes telling me that I had missed dinner.

_'What time is it?'_

I looked around the kitchen and I saw a clock mounted above the fridge, it's hands marked 9:00 pm soI'd better talk to Naru before she gets to sleep, I went to her room, without any encounters until I was outside Narusegawa's room, at first I hesitated as I hoped I wouldn't be bothering her, but then I remembered how important this was to me, I took a deep breath before doing anything.

'_**Knock, knock'**_

"Who is it?" Narusegawa's voice called from her room.

"It's Keitaro, can I come in?"

There was a lingering silence for a while, it didn't seem like something was happening there, I waited for a little more but still there was no answer. I was about to knock again when suddenly Narusegawa opened the door.

"Oh, Hi Narusegawa!" I said a little startled.

"Hello Keitaro, what can I do for you?" She said immediately as she looked at me.

"Well… it's just that… well I wanted to ask you something! More like a favor than anything else."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Can you help me?"

"Help you… With what?" She said with a confused face, it seemed like I wasn't making any sense at all...

"To remember… you know I think that… I think that we've both known each other for a while and… I want to get my memory back as soon as I can, so I thought that you could help me" I don't know… but at that very moment, I felt as if I had done something terribly wrong… I didn't know what it was, but suddenly Narusegawa… for the lack of a better word, stiffed.

She seemed taken aback by my question, she looked surprised and confused at the same time, but suddenly, as fast as that reaction came another one took place swiftly, she crossed her arms around her chest and her face showed me a slight frown.

"We are friends that's all, well… you know we studied together but… it's nothing more than that"

"Friends…" I already knew that, but what kind of 'friends', study partners?

"Well it's just that… you know… I thought we knew each other for a while…"

"Well, we did study together, but it is nothing more than that, really"

"But... sorry, it's nothing, my bad" I said as confusion began to spread in my mind as a plague… I truly didn't know what to say anymore… I thought that everything would work itself out somehow when I met Naru.

"Keitaro…" Naru's voice called me back to the outside world.

"Yes?"

"You should take it easy, you shouldn't try to remember everything in one or two days, amnesia is not a walk in the park you know..." She said as she looked a bit concerned.

"Thank you Narusegawa… I… I guess you are right" Maybe she is right about this, I am taking things too fast...

I looked at Narusegawa and she looked back at me, we stared at each other for a little while, her face and her arms relaxed but still, she was serious… The silence went on until she spoke.

"So, is there something else you need to ask me?"

"N... No, thank you for your time Narusegawa"

"No problem Keitaro, I don't mean to be rude but ... I have school tomorrow and..." She said so as she nodded to a pile of books on her desk, she seemed to be having a rough time at school…

"Oh sorry, see you around!"

"See you!"

I left Narusegawa's room as she waved me good bye, I felt odd about her answer but I couldn't place it, after all the one with the problem here is me… not her, maybe I was expecting too much, two photo stickers can't be much of a lead but unfortunately for me… that was the only lead I had.

Suddenly I felt the urge to go back to my room and forget about today, it seemed that everything went wrong today, well... maybe not so wrong with Kitsune... but still it was nothing to feel proud of!

'_**Grrrr'**_My stomach seemed to share my mood as it complained loudly, after all, I had skipped lunch today, going back to the kitchen I started rummaging trough the fridge for a snack, or if I was lucky, some of Shinobu's dinner leftovers.

"Sempai?"

'_**THUD!'**_

I hit my head against the fridge as I was taken by surprise for the second time of the day, rubbing my head as I turned around, I once again saw Shinobu.

I stood frozen as I remembered today's incident with the laundry, I couldn't really look at her in the eyes... but I needed to talk to her... to apologize.

"Oh, hi Shinobu!"

"Are you dinning Sempai?"

"Yeah, I just came here to grab a bite, what about you?"

"I need to wash the dishes, but I can also fix you something quick to eat"

"N… no Shinobu, you don't have to"

"Please Sempai, I want to help you"

"Help me… With what?"

"In anything I can until your memory comes back!" She took her hands to her mouth as she was shocked by her own words, she was nervous as she fidgeted with her fingers...

"But aren't you upset with me?" I said as I recalled today's incident...

"Eh, about what Sempai?" She said as she looked at me more surprised than shocked now, I tried not to look at her as I explained.

"About this afternoon, I mean... I am truly sorry about what happened Shinobu, I promise that it won't happen again"

"Ah, no Sempai, it's just that... it's just that..." Shinobu's voice lowered as she turned her head the other way.

I was apologizing and I was already pushing her too hard, I really have a thing to make her upset...

"I am sorry Shinobu, I shouldn't have said that, sorry"

"No sempai, it's just that I... I was too embarrassed to think anything straight, I am sorry I caused you some trouble with Motoko..."

"Don't worry, I am just glad that you are not angry at me" I said relieved.

"Sempai... just... just let me fix you something for dinner"

I stood aside and Shinobu pulled out some bread and some other ingredients from the fridge, and then she asked me to sit. I waited patiently, trying to keep my stomach from making any noise until she offered me a feisty looking sandwich.

"This looks great! Thank you Shinobu!"

She giggled happily as I devoured dinner, once again I felt like a new man as Shinobu's cooking finally appeased my stomach.

"Thank you Shinobu, it was excellent!"

She beamed me a smile as she picked up my plate and placed it in the sink, and then she started washing it alongside the rest of the dinner's.

"Let me help you with that" I said as I tried to get up and help Shinobu with the dishes, but just as soon as I moved my chair, Shinobu placed a hand on my shoulder and told me not to worry about it.

"It's not that Shinobu, it's just that you do a lot of things in the dorm and I feel bad not to help..."

"Sempai, I do this because I enjoy doing laundry and cooking so it's not a problem at all" She said as she beamed me a tender smile, I felt lucky for having her around Hinata Sou.

"Shinobu…"

"Yes sempai?"

"Thank you"

I left the kitchen feeling well and glad that there was someone like Shinobu as a tenant here, she was helping me a lot, even if she said it was not a problem I knew I had to be grateful to her.

'_**YAWN'**_

I suddenly felt tired, even if I had overslept, today was tiring... I went back to my room and I didn't even bother to turn on the lights, I just got into my futon... falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

**- ****The next morning –**

**

* * *

  
**

I woke up in my room, feeling as if I was still in a dream, I stared silently at the roof, examining it as if it were some kind of weird picture until I noticed something odd on it.

A hole.

I kept staring at it for a while. Narusegawa's room was just above mine, thinking back to yesterday, I felt a bit dumb about our conversation. It surely would have been a lot easier if she knew something about me...

'_**Sigh'**_

_Snap out of it Ke__itaro, get a hold of yourself! _I slapped myself mentally; it was too early in the morning to be in that kind of mood. I got up, got dressed as I checked the time... It was ten o'clock, I had overslept again.

Going downstairs to have some breakfast I wondered where the tenants were, I didn't find anyone in the way, not even Kitsune, entering the kitchen I saw someone with her back turned.

"Hello Keitaro" She greeted me casually as she turned to face me.

"Aunt Haruka?"

"It's just Haruka, Keitaro…" She said as she looked serious for a while, and then letting it go.

"Sorry, I forgot"

An eerie silence fell among us, Haruka took the initiative.

"Say Keitaro, how is it going?"

"Huh?"

"How are you doing in Hinata Sou?"

"Oh, I am doing ok… I guess" I wasn't sure that was the real answer but I couldn't truly complain since I was still in good shape... so to speak.

"And why is that?"

"Well it's just that… I don't know… I feel like something is odd…"

"Odd? You don't feel welcome?"

"It's hard to explain" I confessed "But even though I feel welcome, there is something bugging me... but I don't know what" I lied, Motoko's and Naru's words bothered me even more than I was willing to accept at the moment.

Haruka looked at me for a second before taking a light sip to her cigarette as she seemed absorbed into her own thoughts. She kept to herself until she talked back to me.

"Come on Keitaro, let's have some tea, my treat"

She left the kitchen and I followed behind her, we walked together down the Hinata's Sou stairs until we reached a small tea shop, the same one I had seen when I got here two days ago. We entered the tea shop and my aunt told me to take a seat in one of the tables, I obeyed as she went to the counter and ordered the tea. She came back a minute later, placing two mugs of tea on the table, we started drinking slowly.

"This is good tea" I commented as she looked at me.

"Glad to hear that, so Keitaro, how are you holding out so far?"

"Frankly I don't know, I haven't been able to remember too much... and when I do, it's distorted, in pieces"

"That's a downer, true, but if you are remembering you are doing well, right?"

"Yeah, that's right but I just can't put my finger on it... may I ask you something?"

"Is it about the tenants?" She sharply answered, she had good instincts.

"Yeah, well... I... I don't know what to ask really but something between them and me... is what feels odd"

"Well, whatever that question might be, you can come ask me anytime, but let me tell you something. Remember the dinner when you got home from the hospital?" I nodded a yes as it came back to my mind.

"Before you arrived, I talked to the tenants about the way they should act towards you, I told them to act as if nothing had happened"

"Why?"

"To keep you from getting any wrong ideas, if they acted as they usually do towards you and themselves in general you should be able to recover faster, sorry I didn't tell you before but I think that this might answer a few questions"

"Well... yeah, if that's the way they act towards me... I hope I can get out of this one without any new cast"

"Come on Keitaro, there are always doctors for that kind of stuff" She said as she grinned me a smile.

"You are right, but I don't think I want to visit a doctor like the one from the hospital in a long while..."

"He he, don't worry about that doctor Keitaro, I also had a little 'talk' with him about his 'diligence' back there in the hospital, I am sure that if you need anything he will be glad this time"

I said nothing as I looked at the sudden pleased expression on my aunt's face, deciding that I really didn't want to know, we changed the subject to anything that came into our minds, and without realizing, we started enjoying ourselves.

Many hours passed until we had to end our conversation due to a sudden rush of clients which my aunt and her employees had their hand's full. I stayed in the shop until I finished what remained of my tea. I said my good byes and headed back to Hinata Sou.

* * *

**Behind the scenes ( Hospital )**

Haruka entered a big office at the hospital, she took a quick look around and realized that whoever this doctor was, he was a big shot.

"Please have a sit" The doctor said as he closed the door behind him, leaving both in privacy, as he quietly moved to his seat behind a luxurious wood desk.

Haruka seated as she examined her surroundings once more everything looked expensive and meticulously cared, even the doctor's desk was clean and tidy... odd thing that he kept a bowl filled with nuts in the middle of it, and besides it, a hand made nut cracker stood proudly as the doctor used it to get a snack.

"Do you want some?" The doctor asked in a bored tone as Haruka politely declined.

"I would like to know what happened to my nephew so I can take him home Doctor"

"Oh... yes, of course"

The doctor started explaining Haruka about the situation her nephew was in, first off he started explaining how he was found, and then he explained that he was in perfect shape, of course disregarding his broken leg and bandaged head, and finally he explained how amnesia worked and that he only needed time to get better.

"Well, that's about it Mrs. Haruka"

"Thank you doctor, but it's Ms. Haruka" Haruka said as she grabbed some contents from the bowl and started juggling them in one hand as if some kind of stress relievers.

"Oh, sorry, Ms. Haruka, do you have any questions?" The doctor asked as a slight smile showed on his face as he looked at Haruka juggling nervously...

"Doctor, I have a question..." Haruka said, the doctor only nodded in agreement as he shifted on his chair to get more comfortable.

"How many times do you need to check the cast a day?"

"Well... once the bone is in place and the cast is set, the cast should be left alone and kept from getting wet as much as possible, if he feels any pain or he gets a strong hit to it, he should come back for a check up"

"Oh, so you mean that you wanted to make sure my nephew's cast was still in place before?"

The doctor looked shocked at the woman before him; she didn't look angry or suspicious of anything but still he couldn't help to shift uncomfortably before giving a response.

"Yes... Yes, I've got to make sure he is in good shape before he leaves the hospital, that's all" He shifted again as he tried to sound convincing, but he felt that the woman before him wasn't buying it, what unnerved him the most was that she didn't look angry or upset about it, he gulped as he kept looking at her.

"Well, it's good that this hospital has such a responsible doctor" Haruka said as she stopped juggling the objects in her hand.

"Of course, we take pride in our patient's recovery!" The doctor felt a wave of relief starting from his spine, passing through his gut and finally ending in his lungs. Feeling reassured and calm, he was about to tell Haruka that it would be time to go, but just as he was about to speak...

"Because, if my nephew was mistreated on purpose somehow, I don't know what I'd do" Haruka said as she crushed the nuts she was holding in her hand, pulverizing them as the dust filtered through her fingers, she glared daggers at the doctor as she swiftly made her point.

Just as fast as the relief had come, the doctor felt suddenly wishing to be allowed to run away for dear life as he understood Haruka's statement, but his legs clamped together as he felt the sudden urge to get to a toilet.

"Well doctor, let's go back to my nephew, shall we?" Haruka offered as she left her seat and headed towards the door.

The doctor said nothing as he tried to rise from his chair. Something he found terribly difficult to do without the risk of tripping. He looked back at her as her expression was calm and stoic as she was already waiting for him at the door. Finally finding the courage, he decided to follow a bit behind her, trying not to make her angry and promising himself that he would treat his patients better from now on... or at least this one in particular.

* * *

Phew, finally this chapter is done, I've got to apologize to everyone about the horrible amount of time I took to update, I truly have nothing to say in my defense.

Anyway, If you liked this story, chapter or something in this entire fic at all, please leave me a review, If you didn't like it, leave a review as well :).

I'd like to thank Havenoname for pre-reading this chapter, THANKS MAN! I OWE YOU ONE.

Untill next chapter.

JKaitz.


	5. Chapter V

Fate

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina, all the characters are property of Ken Akamatsu.

- '_Thoughts' -_

_- memories -_

_**-'sound effects' -**_

**Important stuff, emphasis**

------------------- Change of scenery, change of character

* * *

Haruka was busy, very busy.

But that was not what bothered her; in fact, work was not on her mind. Her nephew in the other hand...

_'Well, he is a grown up boy after all'_Haruka kept telling to herself as she recalled her conversation with Keitaro, she couldn't help to feel a deep worry for him, if she could talk to him a little more...

"The order for table four is ready!" The voice of one of her employees called from behind the counter, Haruka hastily took the mugs and turned back to her clients, she was really too busy to have her mind wandering and besides...

"Thanks for the tea Haruka, I'll be leaving now!" Keitaro called from the shop's exit as he waved his good byes at her, she could only try to wave back as the orders came one after another.

But she resolved to visit him soon, very soon.

* * *

I left my aunt's store and started heading back to the Sou, climbing the stairs bit by bit until reaching the entrance.

And there I saw something… **curious**.

A toy was at the doorstep, thrilled by this little and sudden discovery, I bowed and picked it up from the ground, to my head level, it was a little hefty as I turned the little tank to examine all of the details, all of them placed carefully in the making… toys these days are amazing, they look so real, it's even aiming at me by itself!

"He, he, cute" It was as if someone had waited for me to say those words, and then, a loud explosion blasted me away as everything blurred and became pitch black.

* * *

"_Kei- kun, Kei-kun!"_

_I got up and glanced around, the place was blurry and wide but not very far from me, there was a little sandbox, along with someone._

"_Kei-kun, let's play!"_

_I approached her and for__ the first time, I realized that my cast was gone; she waved at me happily and kept playing, waiting for me. I sat next to her as she continued building a strange set of buildings out of the sand, one of them was tall and looked like an office building with a large clock in the middle, the other was completely different, this one was tinnier and 'chubby', it had a strange onion shaped ornament on top of it, making it look foreign, but important nonetheless._

"_Kei-kun… Did you know that when two people go to Tokyo U together they live happily ever after?" _

"_Tokyo U…"I said out loud as my mind worked in overload until the familiar headache came around. I frowned at my condition, something about all this was... was..._.

"_What's wrong Kei-kun?" __ The little girl asked me as she sounded worried, but still smiling heartily._

"_Oh, nothing, sorry" _

"_Kei-kun... You don't remember, do you?" She asked as she hid her face from me, and suddenly a strange sense of panic came over me, I tried to remember, I truly did, but in the end, only one answer came to me._

"_No_..._" I said as I turned my head in shame, and none of us talked... only the faint sound of sobs could be heard from the girl, I tried to face her, and I placed a hand on her shoulder, a hand she quickly swiped away in disgust_.

"_Kei-kun, __you __**IDIOT!**__" _

_The little girl got up, and began to run away, I followed after her, trying to catch up, I passed through alleys with many, many shops, went up a large set of stairs until she stopped, in front of a big building._

_Hinata Sou._

_She stood for a second, looked back at me with anger, and ran inside the building, quickly and without turning back._

_I ran as fast as my legs could take me to the living room, followed by the kitchen, then trough the corridors of the inn, the chase continued trough all the building until she got cornered in the terrace._

"_Please… please… just let me explain... it's not like... __**I wanted**__..." I said between gasps as she turned her back on me, she had stopped running, just looking to the sky and then the floor, I approached her, and I was about to tap her on the shoulder when..._

"_Yes, __**you did"**__ She answered with razor sharp voice, and suddenly, everything felt as light as a feather and the next second as heavy as a rock as the floor under my feet gave off._

_I began to fall backwards. And the scenery changed, I was falling from what looked as the tall building from earlier at the sand box, and much to my disgrace I wasn't falling alone, just above me, the onion shaped object was greeting me __evilly, and I felt it, a raw pain flowing from my head as I met the ground and then, a shocking fear as I had a first row seat to see world's end as the onion fell mercilessly on me._

_

* * *

_

I woke up scared, almost screaming as I breathed heavily and clenched my fists to regain my calm, taking a glance to my leg and a hand to my head, I realized that I had a new set of bandages, I looked around, and somehow, I had ended up in my room.

Relaxing, I laid back into my futon as I recalled my dream, it was a scary one, but nonetheless compelling… something within this sou, no, **someone** in it. Maybe I was crazy, desperate, stupid or simply ignorant, but I wanted to meet her, that girl that haunts my life and dreams so much.

Suddenly, it came to me on a whim, an impulse; I got up as fast as I could, took one of my jackets and headed out of the sou, too focused to say a word to anyone on the way. Guided by my dream, recalling it bit by bit, it had been so terribly accurate, so real, I went down the sou stairs, went through the alleys, then past the shops, everything was the very same.

And finally there it was, standing in the middle of a wide park, the very same sandbox, the very place where my dream began. I sat near the sandbox, recalling my dream from bit to bit while fidgeting with the sand, getting some scared to odd looks from the people and children around as they started to leave, but it paid off, two things were completely unmistakable, and now I had a new lead, it was two words, and one place.

**Tokyo University**.

"Ara, Kei – kun!" A soft voice came from one of the corners of the park, I looked at her as she giggled and I recognized her immediately.

"Mutsumi!" I said as she approached me, and I did the same, she showed me a smile, a very warm and deep smile as we approached each other; I smiled back at her as she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Found you, he, he" She giggled again as she looked around the little park as if she was looking for something, she moved freely with her arms wide open and sometimes she spun as she walked with a smile on her face. I watched her hypnotized, and like a moth to the flame, I approached her trying not to bother her... she was... **she was**... **collapsing** in the middle of the sandbox!

"Mutsumi! Are you Okay?!" I said to her with a near to break voice, she looked pale and the urge to call an ambulance grew fast, but just as I was about to go get it, I felt her clutching my jacket and asking me to stay.

"But... Mutsumi, you"

"I am anemic, it happens to me very often Kei-kun, I shouldn't have... strained myself like that, but this place is... so special, just let me rest a little... ne?"

I nodded and sat next to her, both worried and wondering about Mutsumi in complete silence as the night fell on us, the lights of the park lit on, and a fresh breeze passed through us. Mutsumi had her eyes closed but she could still feel the cold air, she shivered a little and I did what anyone would do. I took off my jacket and placed it on top of her as a lame cover from the elements; she seemed to relax a little as she continued to rest.

"Say, Kei-kun… what were you doing here?" She suddenly opened her eyes as she slowly started gaining some color, clutching the jacket to her chest as I battled the idea of telling her the whole truth...

"Oh, well, it's a long story... and it's a bit embarrassing..."

"It's okay; I won't tell... or laugh at it"

"Well... to be honest, I... just came here on a whim, what about you?"

"I had a hunch"

"A hunch?"

"Yes... we used to play a lot in this park when we were little, and everyone is looking for you, so I felt like giving it a try"

"Looking for me? Why?"

"Ara, I don't know Kei-kun but it sounded like fun! Let's go back now, ne?"

We went back side by side, and we began talking as we headed back home, she told me about Okinawa and her family, I told her about the strange toy and how it sent me to dream land, and later, she told me about some little mishaps she had today, about her love for watermelons and how they could be used… for **anything!**

Mutsumi smiled as we reached the stairs leading to the sou, we started climbing together and we made a stop at my aunt's store, it was closed but all of the lights were on, we saw her approaching figure coming from behind the counter as she puffed a big cloud of smoke.

"So, you finally found him Mutsumi" My aunt commented boringly as she gave me a good appraising look, she gave another go to her smoke as Mutsumi just giggled and locked one of her arms with mine.

"He, he, yes, Haruka-san, he wasn't far away"

"Sigh, If you needed to go out so badly, at the very least You could **had said something** to your tenants, they were worried when they saw you leave so sudden, late, and in a hurry, they are all over the prefecture looking for you"

With that said Haruka went behind the counter, took out her business phone and made a quick call, it didn't last more than ten seconds as the only words were 'found him' and 'he is at the tea shop'. Everything went fast from there; we stayed a little back at the teashop before we all went back the sou. All the tenants had gathered there like in a counsel and noticed our arrival immediately

They all looked at us with a stoic expression and they kept some seconds in silence, a wrapping uncomfortable silence… I felt like a kid that had been caught with his hand on the cookie jar, and then, hell broke loose. Kitsune just asked me where I was, Motoko followed by an 'you should stay at home' phrase, Shinobu looked at me worriedly as she got some tea for everyone, Sara just kept staring at me as she held some kind of oversized bug catcher, and Kaolla was holding a strange widget with two antennae in her hands, it gave an audible _**'beep'**_ whenever I moved.

Narusegawa was… well… she didn't need to say anything, for some reason, the way she looked at me made me feel even more guilty than I already felt. She was angry, maybe even mad, and I knew I was the reason. Out of impulse I apologized, telling them that I had an errand to run, they didn't seem to believe me until I told them that tomorrow; I would be going to Tokyo U.

"But Urashima, you lost the semester because of your... **condition**" Motoko carefully reminded me, and everyone agreed silently, It was true, but I told them that I had to make the most of my time.

"Oh, now that you're talking about that Keitaro, I think that you are still forgetting something..." Naru's voice called me from one of my sides; I faced and asked her.

"Well, It's OK you want to remember some of your school days, but don't forget you are still the sou's manager and... Have you done **any** of your chores lately? Like the hotsprings or..."

"Or the **mess** from yesterday..." Getting the idea, admitting my lack of work, and with a quick glance at Motoko (from which I got a disapproving look), I decided that I had chores to do first, I agreed with Naru and the others that I would get a head start with my responsibilities, like cleaning the hot springs, halls, and some of the maintenance the sou needed to stay running... specially after neglecting them for **days**.

"Well, now that all is settled, I'll go back to my room" Naru left and everyone seemed to like the idea, Shinobu blushed as she was barely able to stiff a yawn and left after apologizing, everyone following their example, and only leaving Mutsumi and Haruka with me.

"Well Keitaro, it seems that you have a hard day ahead of you... so you should go rest now" Haruka said as Mutsumi came close to me... so close.

"Kei-kun, good luck tomorrow, do your best Okay?" And she gave me a soft kiss on my cheek, but near, very near my lips, I almost felt them touch… feeling her breath, her warmth near me. Everything became fuzzy and the world began to spin, everything became so distant, I only remember Haruka waving her good-byes and both of them leaving me in the common room, with, as they told me later, an dumb face as time passed, and when I came around, I felt that tomorrow wouldn't be so bad.

Right now,** it felt damn good.**

* * *

**The next day.**

* * *

"**All right! Let's do this !"**

I said determined as I tied a bandanna with the words **'World Greatest Manager' **drawn on it and with a quick trip to the kitchen for breakfast, and then to the basement to arm myself with a broom, brushes, and the right tools (all I could find actually), my managing duties started.

Starting with the mess Motoko and I made the other day; picking the rubble, sweeping, cleaning, wiping, slowly and carefully reading the instructions on the bottles of tons and tons of cleaning products, and, from the top to the bottom levels the cleaning was being made, sweating, satisfied, and feeling proud for the well done job but It had been hard to catch up to the whole cleaning business, my cast, and lack of memory sometimes left me wondering how to clean certain areas, what product to use and how, and, as the job was nearing to an end, I realized that It had taken me the whole morning and part of the afternoon, but now, there was only one place left.

The hot spring.

Standing in front of the door, for some reason I couldn't bring myself to enter, I placed my hand on the knob but suddenly, a strange feeling loomed over me, calling me to reconsider once again as I pulled my hand from it. That was strange, never before I had felt this way; maybe... something really bad happened to me there? Ha, ha, no, it's my home and the tenants are gone anyways, and even if they were, its still a bit before noon, there shouldn't be any... accidents... oh god... **towel**...

"**Urashima, Prepare Yourself!**"

That battle cry was all I needed to snap out of the spectacle I just had, and her reaching for her sword was the mark for me to drop everything and get out of there as fast as my legs, no, legs and crutches could take me.

While running and idea crossed my mind, maybe if I talked things over with Motoko, I could explain that it was just one plain accident... yeah, it kinda worked the other day; maybe running just makes me look more guilt--

_**'SWOOOSH !'**_

Just in mid thought a wave of wind swept barely past besides me and hit one of the sou's dustbins... slicing it into many symmetric little pieces as she called my name and mentioned something about 'my maker' that I became convinced, **extremely convinced**, that I wouldn't enjoy to be anywhere near her until she piped down.

I glanced a little above my shoulder and to my dismay, Motoko had almost caught up with me, and, willing to do even the most crazy of things, I turned around a corner of the sou and headed for one of the corridors I had cleaned earlier, a fresh one, there was still a little water and, hoping that it would be still slippery, I did the craziest.

Just before she caught up with me, just before she could ready her sword to strike me, out of the blue, I stopped and took a step sideways to let Motoko run past me, her face showed surprise as she took a little glance at me and then...

"**Urashimaaaa! Don't think that your dirty tricks will work forever!" ** Motoko's angered voice called out for me after a loud crashing noise from the hallway, Motoko must have slipped and... Now I need to hide from her, hide and wait until she cools down, in a place she would not look, a place she would not go.

Was there such a place?

I never thought about it too much, in a kind of frenzy, I ran through the sou's corridors, stairs, and finally entered the first room I encountered, the room was calm, and the trees gave it a nice warm feeling...

Hold it... **trees**?

And there I was, standing inside of one of the most amazing and weird rooms I had ever seen in my short memory span of life, it didn't look like a room at all, it was more like a jungle... but whose jungle?

Suddenly my instincts told me that I'd better not make so much noise, just from outside the room, I heard some angry footsteps and loud mumbling about some ' pervert ' and the feeling of disgrace she felt for falling into a cheap trick, underestimating him, and all about that rant... I kept silent until the voice and steps died down and I began to feel relieved. I would just wait a while and move out to my room, lock the door, and start working on an apology, that should do it, but the perk of this is that I had managed to get out of this one unharmed.

_**'Beep'**_

A beeping sound came from behind me, I turned around and saw a very familiar visitor.

The toy mini tank was in front of me, and suddenly I felt the urge of just leaving the room, so, calmly, slowly, and keeping the cursed toy on sight range, I walked backwards to the door, reaching it and finding the knob without looking.

The little toy stood in the same place, doing nothing, I knew why... The door was stuck. I made a mental note to fix all and every single one of these if I could just get out unharmed of this one, but I was being naive... too naive as the little toy took aim and a strange feeling bordering from acceptance to helplessness loomed over me, I closed my eyes and waited for the final blow, maybe if I didn't see it coming it could be easier to take.

But it just never came.

"Hiyas Keitaro! You coming to play?!"

I opened my eyes and I saw a tanned, blonde blur pass in front of me, picking the little tank and taking it to the bottom of a jungle like a predator to a prey, and, within seconds time she came back in front of me, greeting me in a very unusual way.

She landed a kick on my face and sneaked behind me, I crouched a little to the front to regain my balance, and while I was at it, she climbed into my back and snuggled her face against my head.

"He… hello Ms. Su" I greeted her as I tried to cope with my sudden headache, and now, snuggling sensation, accompanied with a little bother from my bump, it had healed quite fast, and now it was nothing but a little spot of fuzzy feeling skin.

"Yay! Keitaro came to visit me! What shall we play today?! We can play **Chase and missile**, **eat the Tama**, **Hide and Seek**!?"

"Shhh… not so loud Su, I… I am kind of playing hide and seek now… you see, **Motoko is doing the seeking **right now"

"Oooh! So that's why you came to my room?"

"Y… Yeah that's it!"

"You shouldn't hide in the rooms Keitaro, a girl's privacy is **very important! **I guard my room with my **toys** you know?"

"F- Fu - Fully noted" I said out loud as I sweat bullets, she was smart, protective, cheery and at the same time... cute... but nonetheless that last comment sent a shiver, a very cold shiver through my spine.

"Say… Keitaro"

"What is it Su?"

"Can I play with you and Motoko?"

"N… no! I mean, not right now Ms. Su"

"Just Su, Su – chan, or Kaolla – chan Keitaro, Ms. Su, sounds grown up, too formal, bleh!"

"Sorry, I… just don't want to be found just yet... you see..."

"You found Motoko in the hotsprings and now she is chasing you?"

Bull's eye, I was shocked, and I wondered if she had somehow seen trough me, I nodded a silent 'yes' as she hugged my head tighter to herself.

"Keitaro?"

"What is it Su?"

"What is amnesia... is it something bad?"

"It's... hard to explain Su, I... even have trouble understanding it, it's like... trying to recall something you did, but you don't know if you did it in the first place. It's that strange"

"That's strange but never mind! As payment for lying to me and trespassing into my room, you will help me test with my new creation! The new VR goggles ver. 3.1b"

"Su! I… I don't think you… we… I mean, it's safe right?"

"Safer than being caught by **Motoko** that's for sure! Well… more or less"

"Did you… say anything?"

"Nothing! Wait here, I'll be back shortly!"

Kaolla hastily ran and disappeared among the trees, the sounds of clattering and rummaging came to my ears as some objects were practically thrown all around the entire room, some of them were even close to hitting me! Seconds later she came back hastily; placing an odd helmet on my head.

"These are ready for a test run, just sit back and relax"

_**'Bzzz…bip'**_

A small noise came from the helmet as Kaolla's creation rumbled gently as it came to life, a pair of lens came of out nowhere as Kaolla handed me some earphones.

"So… Su-chan, what is this supposed to do?"

"Just hold on"

Suddenly the lens 'turned on' like a TV, but there was no clear image on them… like a big dark void at times, I moved to a more comfortable position as I tried relaxing, but It only made me more nervous, but so far it seemed fine.

"See anything?"

"Nothing"

The sound of scribbling and some keyboard smashing came to my ears as the image in front of me changed forms, it distorted, twisted, blinked, sometimes it looked like the monitor danced and squirmed and many other times it just wiggled weirdly.

"Still Nothing?"

"Nothing"

"Hmmmm, maybe if we just…"

"Hey Su, let's play!" A young and mischievous voice came from somewhere in the room, it belonged to…

"Oh, so you are trying it on the **dork** already?!"

_'Sara__h Mc Dougal'_

"He, he, I can't get an image just yet, so any ideas?"

"Yeah, more potency"

"Yes but it could be…"

"**For science!**" She said it as some kind of battle cry and suddenly…

'_**Beep… beep'**_

A small blinking red dot appeared at the top of the screen, followed by some foreign words, asking Su what was happening, she said something about the helmet before… The whole thing overheats and explodes on my face... the entire world began to spin and blur, as I saw the worried face of Su and an annoyed Sara looking at me, muttering something incomprehensible, the only thing I managed to grasp was, oddly enough 'immortality'.

* * *

Passing away and waking up some time later in the afternoon, I left Kaolla's room as she decided to give her invention some 'adjustments' and that she would give me a call when she was finished… it wasn't so bad, looking at it from the bright side, I had eluded Motoko's punishing strike but Su could take all the time in the world… no hurries… none at all.

Today... was interesting... who am I kidding... today I learned that I am a guinea Pig at the hand of the two of the youngest residents, one is no older than 10 years for God's Sake!

Man... I truly need something to cheer up, something... like ... like...

"Hey Keitaro, care for a drink?" Kitsune's voice called me as I drifted near her room, I hesitated as some of my clothes were burned out from the explosion but in the end I ended up entering her room. I sat silently as she served me some warm sake, I took a short sip, tasting it and adjusting to the flavor and afterwards, out of impulse, I drank the entire shot in one go, and I felt my body warm up to the sake and a relaxing sensation from the gut to my head, I said nothing for a while as the alcohol entered my system and relaxed me.

"Thanks Kitsune, I truly needed that"

"No problem sugar, so… how are you holding up?"

A feeling of dread came over me as I considered how to answer that, for starters it had been good,** beautiful girls**, **a nice and big house**, a job that any guy would **kill** to get, but now… it didn't seem so pretty, in just three days, I had** lost **my memory, **flew** trough a window, I got a **cold shoulder **treatment from Narusegawa for reasons unknown. I am **labeled** a pervert by a sword **maniac** kendo girl, and worst of all, I had given her **REASONS** to believe that, and today, I found out about being a **guinea pig **of the most maniacal under aged scientific in the world

Even as I didn't speak, it seemed that my face reflected my mood, Kitsune didn't say anything and served me another cup, which I drank slowly as she tried to liven up everything a little bit, she started with some chit chat about a horse racing gamble she almost won, and then she said a few jokes, and without knowing the gloomy mood had lifted and after a little more time, Shinobu called us all for dinner.

We arrived together as we all dined, everyone was there, including Motoko who gave me the coldest look she could muster, and we didn't spoke a word between us, not even to ask for the soy sauce or any other need, but at the very least everyone was just the same, Shinobu ate peacefully and slowly, Kitsune ate well, constantly looking at everyone eating on the table, Sarah and Su were practically devouring everything, Motoko was just eating, and Naru was… still not even looking at me.

"Naru, can you get me the soy sauce?" I called to her as she complied, not saying a word to me as she did pass me the sauce.

She was civil towards me… but still something was wrong… I frowned a little but I shrugged it off instantly, so far, there was no particular reason for her to be **angry** at me… was there? Maybe, just maybe what aunt Haruka said was true here; she was just being the same way as she had always been towards me.

Kitsune looked at the scene, and for a second, I saw a frown draw on her face, but just as fast as it came, it had gone away, and the dinner concluded, I congratulated Shinobu for the great dinner as she blushed a little, Sarah and Su took off for their last game of the day, Naru left to her room to study as Kitsune said her good nights and took off to her room. Motoko… gave me another glare and her eye twitched, as if I was some kind of undesirable presence, and afterwards, she headed for her room.

All the tenants gone, but one, Shinobu was cleaning the dishes and without even asking, I took the dirty dishes and placed them in the sink. She was taken back a little she told me not to worry, but I told her that it was no problem, that now I had enough experience moving with my crutches, this afternoon being all the proof I needed.

"But sempai… are you sure?"

"Don't worry about it Shinobu–chan, I am sure"

We worked together and in a blink of an eye the Kitchen was sparkling clean, when we finished cleaning, she took a look at the cupboard, making a list of all the ingredients, spices, and food that were almost up. When she was done, she stuck it on the fridge with a bunny shaped magnet as she said her good byes to me, and went for bed.

That was a great idea, I felt tired after all that running from the afternoon, and… Motoko is mad at me, I'd better not let this go any further, that girl is **dangerous **when angry, and it was best for both of us to be on good terms.

Gathering all my courage, I went up to the third floor, my mind calling me to reconsider but my conscience telling me to go on, I knocked gently on Motoko's door.

"Who is it?"

"Its Keitaro, can I come in?"

"Go ahead"

Entering the room, I was careful enough not to let my mind deviate a lot from the matter at hand, but nonetheless Motoko's room was, in a single word, traditional.

Just entering the room, there was a neatly arranged bookshelf, followed by a desk and closet, the entire room had an aura of discipline and self control like I had never seen before, and just in the middle of the room, Motoko was waiting for me, sitting in a respectful position as I sat across her as best as I could. I noticed a samurai armor behind her, and some ancient looking scrolls on the sides.

"What do you need at this time at night Urashima?"

"I came to apologize... about **earlier**"

She closed her eyes on suspicion, telling me, without the need of words that she wasn't buying it, but her restrain made to keep her response as civil as she could.

"As you may be able to tell from my face Urashima, I don't believe you"

I nodded, but I reassured her that my apologies were sincere. With that said, she stood reflexive a few moments before she spoke her resolution.

"If your words are sincere, then you must prove that there is more to it than just words Urashima, It's already been twice the times since... those... **accidents** occurred" She said as she blushed a little, maybe from embarrassment, or anger, it was hard to tell but I could bet my money on **anger**.

"But... what can I do to prove it?"

"Just stay out of trouble Urashima, my school and swordsmanship needs attention and I don't want to have to deal with those antics of you for a while, if you can stay out of trouble... then I'll take your words as true, if not... I can't allow any kind of mishaps from anyone, especially to **any** of the girls. Do we understand each other?"

"How long?"

"A week, if you can restrain those incidents from happening a week from now on, then you will earn my respect"

"Deal, I'll show you there are more than words behind me" I said without thinking, just a week? That didn't sound too hard, they had been accidents after all, I just need to be a little bit more careful and this little 'test' would be in my pocket.

"Very well Urashima, I look forward to your... **performance"**

We wished each other good nights and I headed slowly back to my room, replaying inside my head what Motoko and I had agreed upon just a few minutes ago.

The night at Hinata sou, was eerie without words, there were no lights on, only the moonlight bathed the corridors with a gently silvery light, just enough to walk safely. Just before turning to the corridor leading to the stairs, a figure came out of Narusegawa's room, she never looked at where I was, the lights were off and the tenants asleep, with the exception of me and those two, I recognized the unmistakable frame of Kitsune.

I looked at her as she said her good nights to Narusegawa, and just as she closed her door, her expression changed so visibly that it was... worrisome, and that was an understatement, she seemed to be in a bad, dark mood, her steps were heavy and her head hung low, as she just climbed down the stairs and entered her room, I waited in the shadows until the lights from both Narusegawa's and Kitsune's rooms were lit out.

Without making any sound I entered my room, and prepared myself for sleeping, the sole image and the tension of what I witnessed before kept me awake as I wondered without success about Kitsune and Naru...

Many, many things within this sou were a mystery, sleep evaded me as I felt, deep inside me, that something was wrong and I was the cause of it all, as well as the only answer was buried deep within my self, in the depths of my mind.

* * *

End of chapter 5

Hello, it has been a while since I last updated... Yeah, I know but this fic ain't dead, it's just that lately lots, **lots** of things have happened, and If you add some laziness to the formula (and lots of Online Gaming). This is what it spawns.

I hope you all liked this chapter and also I encourage you to review, let it be constructive, flames, or whatever you feel the need to tell me about this fic, it will be well received.

Thank You

See you at chapter 6 - JKaitz -


	6. Chapter VI

Fate

Chapter VI

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina, all the characters are property of Ken Akamatsu.

- '_Thoughts' -_

_- memories -_

_**-'sound effects' -**_

**Important stuff, emphasis**

------------------- Change of scenery, change of character

* * *

The next day, something was… different, in an odd way; it was hard for me to put it into words but I think it was just instincts kicking in.

The argument between Naru and Kitsune came to my head, to see Kitsune, easily the most laid down tenant, being so down was like a big red light for me, I couldn't ignore it. But I didn't wish to mess with her or Narusegawa's privacy. Besides if someone knew that I eave dropped on them... even just circumstantial as it was, it could have **very** dangerous consequences, one of them was called Motoko.

Shivering a little, I changed into my clothes, and went downstairs to the kitchen to get some breakfast with the tenants. Shinobu, Sara and Su were already leaving for school, I was just in time to greet them good-bye.

I went into the kitchen, Naru and Motoko were at the table, still halfway through their breakfast, Motoko gave me a stern look from across the table that said: "Do not forget, a **whole** week" I nodded rubbing the back on my head nervously, Naru was surprised by that, she took a long inspecting look, and shrugged it off, for some reason I was a bit nervous whenever Narusegawa looked at me, but so far, no arguments, accidents or anything that needed Motoko's 'assistance'.

"_'Narusegawa...'_ " I hadn't talked to her since that night two days ago… Something about her was strange, if I **just knew**...

"Good morning!"

Kitsune arrived to the kitchen, she was in her pajamas... well, I don't know if you could call them that, it was just a pair of shorts, the very… comfortable type, and a shirt, a very **tight** shirt around her… well, I guess you get the idea.

Anyway, she was the last one to arrive, but nonetheless she greeted everyone while trying to stifle a yawn as she took a seat besides me, I couldn't help but expect some 'tension' between her and Narusegawa but they exchanged their greetings casually, no glare, cold shoulder, nothing, they were acting... normal!

"Hey hun, hand over the soy sauce will ya?" Kitsune asked me, and I complied...

I took the bottle and handed it to her, but she didn't just received it from me, instead, she also took my hand between hers, I felt her soft, smooth fingers run across the back of it, embracing it in a kind gesture before taking the bottle from me.

I heard a muffled sound from the other side of the table, like when you scream directly into a pillow, I saw Motoko giving me a questioning look, but, it's not like I had done anything besides being a good caretaker. She tried to put her attention somewhere else, but Naru, the look she was giving me was, in one word, **terrifying**.

"Say Keitaro, You and Kitsune are being very 'friendly' lately..." Narusegawa stated. I swallowed, Motoko 'coughed' and Kitsune just poured some soy sauce on her food.

"Come on Naru, Keitaro hasn't done anything to me; he was just being a good landlord, right?"

I nodded, **sweating**.

We continued chowing down our food, but Narusegawa was still looking at me from time to time, and every time our eyes met, I looked away, trying not to make the matters worse; I began eating faster, clumsily, but faster. I had plans today, very important plans.

But that didn't seem to work the way I wanted to, but quite the opposite, I believe that whatever she was suspecting was getting stronger, the ambiance was getting heavier and heavier, I tried to look at her but I couldn't keep eye contact, each time I found myself turning my head the other way until, sooner or later, I came face to face with Kitsune, she had moved her seat closer to me, I don't know how without me noticing, but se was so close that I could feel her breath on me, giving me an intricate look, I felt drawn, curious, nervous, and **scared**, but for some reason I couldn't help myself but to look at her.

"Oh, you have some rice on your cheek" Kitsune licked her lips and took a little grain from my cheek, and then, she ate it… slowly, savoring the food as if it was the most delicious thing in the whole world, licking the length of her finger as she gave me a look that could make anyone think many things.

A **hell lot** of things.

My head started to feel hot and dizzy, like it was on fire, a little trick of blood flowed slowly out of my nose but a loud crashing noise pulled me back to reality. I saw Narusegawa giving me the worst glare I had ever seen, or remember, the kind that says a lot of things about your last moments in life, proof of it was that her tea mug was cracked from the grip she had on it, backed up by the fact that Motoko (who was flushed to the core), began looking for something with her right hand...

I took my crutches and ran out like a bullet before the bomb detonated, I was so nervous that I almost tripped on my way out, barely managing to keep going as I turned tail and left, I didn't need clairvoyance to know what would happen if I stayed within the sou much longer and I had my wallet with me, so I just ran out, encountering Mutsumi and Haruka along the way.

"Ara Kei-kun, you are early today!" Mutsumi greeted me happily and Haruka waved at me a friendly 'Hello' but at that instant I heard a violent sound, just like an explosion coming from behind me, and it was getting louder and louder, sending a chill down my spine. I had to get out of there **fast!**

"Sorry Mutsumi, Haruka, but I am in a **hurry**, see you around!"

"Ara..." Both of them stood in the same place looking at me but I kept going my way, away from the sou, away from the chaos, and most importantly, away in **one piece.** I didn't mean to be rude at any of them, but given the little 'situation' that started brewing this morning... it was better for me not to be around until everything had piped down, I climbed down the stairs and walked to the nearest bus station.

I arrived just in time and I had to be thankful to the bus driver, he waited patiently for me to get in the bus, to pay for my passage and for me to settle down on the yellow seats, reserved for people with my... limitations, before he drove off.

The ride on the bus was a long one, but maybe that's just because I lost my memory or simply because I didn't really have anything to do until I arrived at Tokyo U, I found myself looking at the landscape, the people who came in an out all the time, and why not? I tried making out something familiar, something that could help me remember, but now that I think about it, I was like a child... everything I saw was new to me; it was like watching the outside world in a different light.

After an hour or so in bus, many people, most of them my age or younger, began to step down, I followed them the best I could, and after a minutes walk, I saw a big tall building with a clock watch embed in the center, the place of my dreams, Tokyo U.

Suddenly, I had the strangest calling, an impulse... a **remembrance**, I stood watching it, and, before I realized what I was doing, I extended my hand like if I was reaching for it, from the distance it seemed that I was taking the most prestigious school in Japan, just within the palm of my hand.

I was so happy... I didn't know why, I felt like if something really, really, **heavy** had just been lifted from my shoulders, I knew that this was a very special place... it was a shame about my amnesia.

But that's what I came here for.

Encouraged by my discovery I started walking around the campus, watching the faces of all the students, some of them were happily talking with their friends, others... were not so much, many of them were studying so hard, that they didn't notice anything around them, there were many others that had a face that showed nothing but pure oblivion.

"Hey Teshigawara, how did you do on the test?" A student voice came from behind me, two seniors, one seemed relaxed, while the other seemed, well… It seemed like he had been from hell and back

"Pretty good, the last three problems were very interesting"

"But… but… We never did anything like 'those' in class!"

"THAT'S why they were interesting!"

The student lumped his shoulders in defeat as they kept up walking. So the test were on… That explained it… I kept wandering around, the campus was **enormous**, I looked around the many places it had for a while, trying to remember something about it, but when nothing came to my mind, I moved on, surely that was a part of the campus I rarely visited, maybe the next one would be the one I was looking for, I had the entire day to search through it all.

After many, **many tries**, I slumped on one of the benches around the campus, I was so tired, and this was not going as I expected, that dream had been so real... had I missed something? No, I had been very thorough, but then, why? Why couldn't I remember? Who was that little girl? Why was she so angry at me...?

" _**sigh" **_

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes to relax, and then... I heard the sound of machines working, curious got the better of me and I followed the sound to a short building completely foreign from the others, the color, the shape, those were dead giveaways. But that was not all...

There was lots of yellow duct tape with the words: "Danger: Do not cross!" on it, there was also a sign that showed a construction worker apologizing because the building was under renovation/repairs. So I stood behind the lines, looking at the weird building... there was something odd about it, familiar, I couldn't place my finger on it but I knew this was what I was looking for, I circled around it, trying to make something out of it.

"Young man, this area is off-limits "

I turned around and a police guard greeted me, the officer was beyond his middle age, perhaps his retirement was not very far away, he had a gentle, but firm face, one that makes you respect someone.

"Sorry for startling you, but, are you looking for something young man?" He said as he examined me thoroughly, as if he was measuring me, he made me feel nervous, I felt that I couldn't hide anything from him.

"Yeah, well... not really, but the thing is that... yes but... err... can I ask you something? " He raised his eyebrow at my babbling, he was getting impatient and suspicious, but he didn't do anything... **yet**.

"As long as I can, sure, ask away "

"Why is this area like this? "

"You mean you don't know about the **'incident'**? Where on earth do you live young man?"

"In the Kanagawa District... but you wouldn't believe it anyway "

"Heh, it has been the talk of the entire campus for the last days, Are you here on a visit? I've seen you wandering around the campus for quite a while now "

"Yes... I am looking for something "

The man looked at me skeptically, straight into my eyes, he didn't say anything, he kept staring at me, looking for god knows what, and when he found himself convinced, he sat besides me and took a deep breath, he stared at the building, and he began to talk.

"I was on duty that day, but I was on the other side of the campus, it was the very start of the semester... the entrance ceremony to be exact" I listened to him, focused on the duct tape, rubble and dust.

"The thing is that the building in front of you is or was an auditorium, on the very day of the ceremony, a student, surely a show off and very **stupid** prankster, began **dancing** on top of it. We don't know how he got there, there were guards like me watching the building and no stepladders and all of the locks were in place"

"And what happened? "

" The thing is that, **the idiot** started dancing on top of the auditorium dome, to show up surely, its not the first time it happened, there was a time when one of them pulled off his pants and... "

"I get the idea!" And fortunately, not a mental image.

"Oh, sorry kid, as I was saying, the guy was dancing there, and all of a sudden, **Boom!** The dome collapsed, taking him down with it... "

"And what happened to the guy?! "

"Don't know, things got hectic for us, I had to make sure the students didn't panic; the sound it made when it crashed was heard through the entire campus. Right after that, I got an order from my radio to help relocate the remaining students away from there, but as far as I know, an ambulance was called and he was taken to an hospital, the strange thing is that no other students were hurt but I guess you don't question that, it was a relief "

"And what else? "

"I don't know much about it, rumors says he died, others said that he broke all his bones... but it's just rumors, if you ask me, no one could ever survive a fall from that height, or at least not without a one way ticket to **intensive care**... but there is no way for me to know"

The officer made a pause, giving a long sight.

"The school has tried in many ways to keep the case as quiet and under the rug as possible, it's never good for a school to have any of their students injured, it's even worse if it happens because the facilities were not proper, I believe the school paid all the expenses in order to keep the family quiet and happy"

The color had drained from my face, I took one glance at my leg before managing to pull myself together for one final question.

"And… and… how did the dome look like? "

"It was Arab style...or was it Russian? You know the ones that look like giant **onions**? Well... so much for culture I guess "

"Like an onion? You mean a **big yellow onion**?"

"Yes, that's the one, so **you've heard of it** after all" The guard turned back to me, looking at me skeptically, I suddenly stared sweating, badly, my body started trembling like it was cold, shivering uncontrollably...

"Hey, Kid, are you Okay?!" The guard called from besides me as he held me so I didn't hit my head as I fell, I was miles away... my vision blurred, my senses abandoned me... even the light, It dimmed and vanished into nothingness.

There I was, once again, that day, that time, a sudden blow to my jaw, me dancing happily on the cupola, the void under my feet, the air, the adrenaline, the fear, rubble falling all around me, the dome... the impact, my leg, the pain, the ambulance, Tokyo U fading in the distance... all of it, going out of my grasp, going away. Away... growing tinnier and tinnier until there was nothing more…

The bright white light of a lamp, and a strong smell of disinfectant was the next thing I noticed when I woke up, my head hurt, and my leg felt funny, I sat on the bed, looking around, I was in a small room, with a little desk, a shelf with many labeled medicines, a window, and a nurse carrying a notepad.

"How long have you been awake?" The nurse said mildly amused as she sat before me and took out a penlight, she told me to stay put, as she examined my eyesight.

"I've just did, Where am I?"

"In the infirmary of course, you collapsed from stress a few hours ago, but don't worry, you are alright now"

I looked at my leg, for some reason it was just a little 'itchy', after that I took a look outside the window, the campus was a lot quieter, a clock above the infirmary marked 4:00 pm, I had been knocked out for long...

"You know, it's never good to let too much stress build up, take this pamphlet, and give it a good read, ok? " She told me as she handed it over, it was about stress and the negative effects on the body, she made me read through the whole thing before letting me go, but I knew it wasn't just stress what knocked me out, luckily I didn't end up in a hospital nor anyone I knew noticed... well maybe that was not as good, if anyone I knew had noticed me, they would have at least said hello or something.

Going back to what had happened, I knew that remembering the accident had caused it; I never want to feel that kind of pain again... I just can't describe how it felt, and I don't wish anyone to ever experience it, it was a mayor overload to the senses… After reading the pamphlet and answering some questions for good measure, the nurse pulled out a small laptop from one of the drawers and typed all the info on it, checking on the database for my file, from which I asked the nurse about my student id, she told me that I was a special case because I had been discharged "because of illness" only to return until I was healed. I chuckled, the school had managed to cover everything all right, and after she finished making the entry she sent me off.

I went out of the infirmary, it was on the lowest levels of a building, I didn't care which building it was, the warmth of the day began to wane as a cold breeze began to roam through the campus, all of the students began to rush off to their homes, maybe it was time for me to do the same.

I started walking, slowly, my crutches and my steps made a light eco within my head as I contemplated what had happened. Many say that misery loves company, but with me it was on a whole different level, it all happened so fast, but to see a white van rushing at full speed towards you in the middle of a campus makes you reconsider about odds and life, and it's definitely not a bad partner for misery at all. What's even stranger was that when the van was about to run me over, it changed directions and 'drifted'? But if you ask me it was as if the van had slipped past me just to barrel roll behind me.

"Oh, partner! I've finally found you! Want a ride home?" A man on his late twenties came out of the van and waved at me, with his face half covered in blood coming from his forehead, but still, smiling heartily, I didn't know what to think, it was creepy in so many levels, and yet, the way he talked to me was like old friends or even family, that I felt like giving it a try. He called me 'partner', was he a classmate? No, he should have graduated already; he came out of the van, cleaning away the blood off his face with a towel. He asked me how Sara was doing, I didn't answer, then, he looked at me strangely, maybe because the way I was looking at him showed him that I didn't know who I was talking to.

The man then introduced himself as Noriyasu Seta, he also told me that Haruka had phoned him, telling him I was coming and about my amnesia, after that, he offered me to drive me home again; I took that offer almost immediately. Hell, so far, that was the creepiest and for some reason, the **most pleasant **surprise of the day.

Odd

That was the fist word that could describe him, but with a sense of friendliness and bits of brotherhood in him… The guy seemed disperse and stuck into his own world, to prove my point; his whole van was full of all kinds of old looking and, according to him, invaluable objects of research.

"So, tell me Part-Timer, how've you been?"

Boy… That question was getting annoying, but mostly frustrating… because there really wasn't an answer to begin with.

"Well, I've been taking care of the sou… It comes with its ups and downs."

"Oh? Talking about ups and downs; how is my little Sarah? I hope she is not much of a burden to you"

"She is **very **energetic that's for sure, and with Kaolla… let's just say they are an 'dynamic duo'"

"Ha, ha , ha, true, Sarah used to use my artifacts back there as toys, she'd say, '_Daddy look!_ _An UFO'_ and then, she would toss them across the van or out to the road, much to my demise. I was worried of her growing a bit too attached to me and that she might have problems making friends, I am glad I left her at yours and Haruka's care"

"…" I said nothing as I looked at a piece of pottery that was on my seat, it was a pot in the shape of a turtle, its long neck had a handle where you could serve the water, and it was fascinating

"Feeling a little under the water eh? Anyway, I'll pick her up for a few days; a father needs to look after her daughter after all"

"You are right" Wow… for some reason I was suddenly fighting the grin on my face from showing as I heard those marvelous news.

As we arrived to the sou, the sky was a mix of blazing red an orange, the sun was beginning to set, and so, as we climbed the stairs talking to each other two blurs came towards us.

"Papa, you are back!" Sarah jumped at the Seta, who caught her into a big warm hug.

"Keitaro, Welcome back!" Su on the other hand, or feet? Greeted me with a flying kick to the jaw, almost making me lose my balance back to the staircase, luckily I am used to my crutches by now.

"Come on Sarah, let's keep playing 'jungle raiders!"

"Sorry Su, I want to stay with papa for a while"

Su looked at Sarah and looked at them seriously, maybe she didn't like to be cut off like that while playing, but when I thought she was about to protest, she just smiled and looked at me… **intently.**

"D… Do you need something Su?" I tried to keep my voice from sounding strained; I didn't want to be a part of her experiments, toys, games or any other contraption she built.

"Keitaro, let's play **'eat the Tama'**" She said as she made me the 'puppy eyes' on me, that was a low blow, but survival instincts prevailed.

"Sorry Su, but I am busy at the moment, why don't you go ask a tenant to play with you?"

"But Shinobu says my games are scary and she also has to cook dinner, Motoko is busy with her studies, and Naru and Kitsune are not good playmates, they can't run fast enough!"

"I… need to catch up with my studies; I haven't even opened a single book since my incident" I said lamely as it was the first thing that came to my mind, and it was in part true, but I admit that I would have said anything else in order to 'escape'.

"Can I come and watch you study? I promise I'll be good"

"Good as in no 'toys' in the room?" - I ask and she nodded – "That sounds ok…" -

"Yay! Thank you Keitaro! Let's see who gets to your room first!" Su cheerfully announced and took off, I said my goodbyes to Sarah and Seta before going to my room, walking, yes, but at least relaxed because I only had to deal with one member of the 'dynamic duo' and besides, Kaolla said she'd be good.

I opened the door to my room, was it really my room? Last time I remembered my room the futon was undone all right, a the room was little messy? Yes, it was. But it looked like a place to live, but now… it was chaos, books were scattered all around the room, I entered only to feel something heavy around my shoulders.

"What took you so long Keitaro!?" Su asked me as she landed on my shoulders, snuggling against my head.

"I had to say goodbyes to Sarah and Seta, Su… by the way… what happened here?" I said as I pointed to the mess.

"I got bored and I looked for something fun to do" She said brightly as she leaped from my back and swinged across the room via light bulb cord, falling neatly in a pile of books from where she began to read through them interestingly.

I didn't know what to make out for it, in a way I knew I had to be angry at her for trashing my room like that, on the other hand she seemed like she didn't do it with any bad intentions, it confused me, but for some reason I was just uneasy but not angry, so, I t grabbed a bright yellow book that contained math exercises and I got to it.

Beginning with the simplest problems like finding the value of the variable x, or sometimes x and y together were a good warm up, I was glad that my memory loss didn't mess up with my studies so far, but when I stumbled upon mid level problems, it's where my worries began.

I had solved those before, I had written the answer on the notebook and I checked that it was correct at the back of it, but, when I tried solving them again… if I was lucky I got the answer wrong, and the other times I had hit a brick wall in the middle of solving them, I asked Su to hand me a used notepad, and there was many procedures that I made to solve the problems… the thing was that even when the writing was clean I couldn't make head or tails of it.

"_Damn"_ I cursed inwardly, I began to sweat, and being honest, I felt scared, there was no way that I could have passed my entry exam like this, but for some reason I had forgotten many high school related stuff, or even more…

The possibility made me shiver, but I didn't know what to do, did I have to re-learn everything? I really wished I didn't have this amnesia anymore, but that was the frustrating part, I would never know when it was going to dispel, it could be a few more days, weeks, months maybe… or even years… and I knew I didn't have them.

"Keitarou, what's wrong? You look pale!"

"No… nothing Su, don't worry" But I knew she had seen my lie, she was a lot smarter than I thought if she was able to build her toys, but to my surprise, she didn't argue, I heard her move to another side of the room, while I was just too shocked about my situation looking only at the test book and notepad as I desperately tried to keep going. Suddenly there was something shoved between my text book and my face… the picture of a female without her top, only clad in her black panties, resting on a bed while calling me with her finger to go and join her.

"Wha… what?!" I held my nose, for I knew I didn't want any blood sprawled anywhere.

"Ha, ha, ha, so this worked right!? Feeling better Keitarou?"

"Su! Kid's aren't supposed to see that stuff! Where did you get that anyway?!"

"It was behind your bookcase, see?" Su pointed the bookcase in question, indeed, it was moved and I could see many more magazines in there… and I didn't even know I had them! And yet, she found them so easily… I feel embarrassed… and for some reason, defeated.

"Well, just put them back will ya!?"

"Nope!" She answered giving me a devilishly amused grin as I got the message, she was going to make me earn it.

"Well, if you want it that way" I tried to swipe the magazine off her hands but she back stepped away in the last second, and so the grand chase around my room began, we knocked out books and I tripped many, many, times before I caught her and claimed the magazine.

"What is going on down there?" We heard a voice and the sound of an object being swept away as Narusegawa's head showed from above.

"Well… well… well, what do we have here? Anything to say in your defense Keitaro?" Narusegawa dangerously said as she jumped down, cracking her knuckles and by god I swear I saw the air around her distorted in a black void before she pulled back her fist and…

"Naru! Want to join in? You can be in Keitarou's team!" Su asked cheerfully as she jumped from behind me and hugged Narusegawa, who changed her face from killing rage to overwhelming fear as Su hugged her… **hard**.

"Narusegawa, are you ok?!"

She said nothing as I caught her as Su released her, Su stood besides her, rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry Naru, I forgot…" That's all she said as we looked at each other, and in silent agreement, we postponed our playing as we both helped Naru back in her room… of course, not without an 'I'll get you for this' look from her, and I suddenly got the urge to fix that hole in the ceiling… along with locking my room at night.

And so, the day was at it's end we all had dinner at the kitchen as Naru ate quickly and left, later on, to my surprise Kitsune was the next one to leave, and so, the rest of us ate our dinner, I praised Shinobu's cooking once again as Motoko looked mildly surprised that nothing had happened today… She really doesn't believe I can win… but I had survived so far.

And so, the day came to an end… I had mixed feelings about today… I remembered, right… but it was not what I had expected… I had been discharged until I was healthy, did that mean that until my leg… or even my amnesia were healed I could not go back? But true to that, I had forgotten much high school stuff… I was in lots of trouble… I couldn't shake that ominous feeling… but I was tired… very tired… in fact… such a long day…

I turned the lights out… those thoughts be damned…

* * *

I am in the middle of nowhere, everything is empty, and with every step I take, a dull sound all around me echoes in every direction.

I keep walking but it leads me nowhere, all empty, am I truly walking? Or even moving? It's hard to tell, it's all the same, it's just me and the echo.

" He, he, he" A childish laughter came from somewhere, I feel relieved, I **did** get somewhere after all, and the laughter sounds so happy, brilliant, that alone makes me walk faster.

And once again, there is no use. It's all the same all around me, the laughter and my steps, all around in echo.

"Is anyone there?!" I call for the voice

"What are you looking for?" The voice asked me, I turned around, the voice is coming from all directions.

"My memories!" Was my answer.

"HE, HE, HA, HA, HA" The voice laughs louder than before.

"WHAT'S SO FUNY?!" I screamed, the voice just laughs.

I scream again, but it's muffled. Just laughter, laughter, laughter, I put my hands on my ears, but I can still hear it, unending laughter…

It laughs and my head begins to hurt in a searing pain, it's so much it gets me on my knees, the voice laughs even harder, it laughs at me.

* * *

I woke up with a huge gasp of air, almost throwing a tantrum.

"_What the hell was that" _I was shaking, I reached for my forehead, it was all sweaty, I sat on my futon, taking my breath as I looked around the room, it was dark, but a bit of moonlight from the window behind me let me see enough to let me calm down and recognize my surroundings.

"What's wrong Keitaro?"

"I had a bad dream Su, but it's ok now" I said to the groggily girl at my side as I laid down again.

"Oh, nighty night Keitaro!"

"Good night Su "

'_...'_

'_.......' _

'_.........' _

'_...........Wait' _

I looked again, where did she come from? No, more importantly.

"Su? What are you doing here?"

" I am sleepy... Keitarou..." She said as she barely opened and eye, she rubbed the other one to wake herself up.

"Err... Su, is something wrong with your room?" I didn't want to be rude, but I must confess that I was very scared at the moment, because, I was pretty sure that this wasn't anywhere near 'landlord duty', and if the word got out... I couldn't even imagine... actually, I could, I could see myself tied to a tree, with all the tenants looking down on me, Motoko unsheats her katana as she approaches me, and then, with a swift swing of her blade she cuts off my...

"No Keitaro, my room is fine"

"But then…" Kaolla looked away from me and hugged her pillow.

"I had a bad dream, I can't sleep" She said as she sank her face in her pillow. A nightmare? That's what this was all about? I felt a bit relieved; this couldn't be a hard thing to handle.

"Su, it was just a bad dream but it's all over now, want me to take you back to your room?"

"Only if you sleep there with me"

"Su, I can't do that... it's..." Complicated, I was about to say, and not very healthy for myself.

"Do you hate me Keitaro?" She said and her voice took a very serious tone...

"NO! I don't! Why would you think that?"

"Because you are not letting me stay"

"_Damn_" I cursed inwardly, it's not like I hate her, but it's not like she can stay either...

"Do you want... to talk about it?"

She hugged her pillow even tighter, her face became darker and she trembled, this hadn't gone as I planned, she recalled her dream... and now.

"No... can't... I .... really... stay? Do... do you really... hate me?" Her voice quivered as she trembled, she was scared, and whatever she dreamed of it scared her.

For some reason... I saw that she and I were in the same situation tonight… both of us scared out our wits because of a dumb nightmare and just like that, my determination to pull her away fell into oblivion… I was defeated before I even started.

"No, I don't hate you Su, and yes, you can stay"

"Really?"

"Really"

"Yay! Thank you Keitaro!" Su brightened almost instantly, that had been a real emotional roller coaster right now.

I got up groggily and clumsily because of my crutches and moved to look inside my closet, luckily there was an extra futon and sheets, It was on the top shelf, I reached for it, but I was short, way too short.

Suddenly, Su climbed up on my shoulders, she did that so fast that I didn't have time to say 'wait' or even object, she told me to go towards the closet, and so, she threw down the sheets, and when she was done, I moved so she could get the futon.

Su tried to pull it out, she said that it was stuck, so, mustering all the strength she had, she pulled it free, but in doing so, she jerked her body the other way, making me lose my balance, my crutch slipped, and with a loud **'thud' **I fell backwards.

The next thing I knew, my face was in between Su's… tights. And suddenly, I heard movement coming from the top floor, footsteps? Or just Narusegawa stirring in her sleep? I didn't know but I felt my heart pounding against my chest, and cold bullets going down my face… which was in a not-so-nice place to be caught.

Seconds later, well, some agonizing seconds for me, all the sounds and stirring stopped, Su, removed herself from me as she almost laughed for our little accident, I _**'sheeshed'**_her, I didn't want to wake up anyone, so I asked her in a quiet voice to help me set up her futon. When we were done, we wished each other good night and went to sleep.

Just like that.

Yet, sometime later, I felt a kick on my side, waking me up. I looked at my side tiredly, I could see her face just inches from mine, breathing on me. I moved a bit away from her, and closed my eyes. Moments later, she had rolled and slapped me with the back of her hand; Once again, I moved, but only to find myself kicked again, and again… until I was thrown off the futon.

"Kaolla… Su… wake up…" I stirred the young girl to wake her up again, so we could both go back to our futons, but suddenly she grabbed my torso into a hug.

A bone shattering hug.

I placed my hands on her arms, trying to break free, I couldn't even make her soften her grip on me, on the contrary, she just hugged me tighter, I felt my ribs flex as her face turned into a frown. She began to mumble things in another language, she stirred and trembled... scared.

My mind went into an overload, survival instincts perhaps, but out of the blue, I began to stroke her hair.

"It's ok Su, it's just a bad dream"

"Please, don't go away... I don't like being alone, I miss you!" She said in a strained voice, my words were getting to her.

"You are not alone… you are hugging me, **right?** I am not going -_**'gasp'-**_ **anywhere**"

She relaxed her grip, but she still didn't let go, she was still trembling, I kept stroking her hair, but that didn't seem to do the trick anymore, I talked her gently but still… nothing else happened… until I finally hugged her back. And that worked wonders.

The grip she had on me almost banished, it was a gentle hug, her breathing became calm, and her trembling stopped, I was relieved, now it was time to break apart.

But as soon as I tried to move away, she tightened her hug again. "_Arrrgh.... damn it"_ I thought as I looked around the room, I watched the hole on the roof, and my door, scared that someone might walk on us, but nothing, only the faint sounds of the trees and Su's breathing altered the peacefulness of the night.

"Brother… let's play a lot tomorrow, Ok?" Su said in her sleep as she relaxed even more, I kept stroking her hair.

"I am not your brother… but sure, let's play tomorrow"

And so, she finally let go of me, resting peacefully, I was **exhausted**, I made my way to the other futon… Perhaps I had just exaggerated, I did a fuss about this… but…I needed… some rest… I could think of something tomorrow so we didn't get caught in a misunderstanding… but boy I needed the rest...

End of chapter VI

* * *

Some rant:

Hey, it's been a while (an understatement, I know) since I last published something, and, if you read this chapter to these very lines, I really hoped you enjoyed it!!!

And so, I'd like to thank to everyone who has left me a review a PM with pointers, and all those who added me to their story alert, I really apreciate it (You guys ROCK!).

Well, I'll be seeing you in chapter VII.

Peace . JKaitz


	7. Chapter VII

- '_Thoughts' -_

_- Memories -_

**_-'Sound effects' -_**

**Important stuff, emphasis**

* * *

**_Previously... on Chapter VI_**

_"It's ok Su, it's just a bad dream"_

_"Please, don't go away... I don't like being alone, I miss you!" She said in a strained voice, my words were getting to her._

_"You are not alone… you are hugging me, **right?** I am not going -**'gasp'-** **anywhere**"_

_She relaxed her grip, but she still didn't let go, she was still trembling, I kept stroking her hair, but that didn't seem to do the trick anymore, I talked her gently but still… nothing else happened… until I finally hugged her back. And that worked wonders._

_The grip she had on me almost banished, it was a gentle hug, her breathing became calm, and her trembling stopped, I was relieved, now it was time to break apart._

_But as soon as I tried to move away, she tightened her hug again. "Arrrgh... damn it" I thought as I looked around the room, I watched the hole on the roof, and my door, scared that someone might walk on us, but nothing, only the faint sounds of the trees and Su's breathing altered the peacefulness of the night._

_"Brother… let's play a lot tomorrow, Ok?" Su said in her sleep as she relaxed even more, I kept stroking her hair._

_"I am not your brother… but sure, let's play tomorrow"_

_And so, she finally let go of me, resting peacefully, I was **exhausted**, I made my way to the other futon… Perhaps I had just exaggerated, I did a fuss about this… but…I needed… some rest… I could think of something tomorrow so we didn't get caught in a misunderstanding… but boy I needed the rest..._

* * *

**Fate**

**Chapter VII**

I woke up, and realized that Su was hugging me but, unlike last night, it was a gentle hug, her breathing was slow and peaceful like her face, I didn't notice when that happened but I must admit that I slept so well that I don't even remember having a dream, specially **that one**.

Looking at the ceiling, I thought of last night's antics; everything had been so frenetic but, now, I felt so calm and rested that it seemed like I was just blowing things out of proportion, it would still be complicated to explain to anyone though.

Closing my eyes again, the only thing I heard was Su's slow breathing, she wouldn't move, she'd just hug me gently as she continued to sleep. I didn't move either, all things aside, it was kind of nice; after a while, I delicately moved Su back to her futon, she groaned a bit but didn't wake up.

I got up slowly, and moved as carefully as I could so I wouldn't bother her, grabbed my handy pair of crutches, a change of clothes and headed to my bath tub, closing the door slowly as I left.

The way there was uneventful; I was expecting to come across a tenant or two but everything was eerily peaceful, all the doors were closed and the halls were quiet. When I got to my destination, I undressed, tied a plastic bag around my cast and proceeded to wash myself.

I had no idea why I was so calm... had a part of me gotten used to these antics? I shivered a little, this wasn't what I would consider 'normal', well... nothing that had happened to me in the last few days could be considered that, I am pretty sure that whatever reason Su had, it was because everything that was going on wasn't 'normal', even by the sou standards.

The fact that Su decided to sleep in my room worried me and… **Why** did I let her do that? It hadn't been the smartest move, especially because of the possible misunderstandings and consequences that would definitely follow. I had every right and reason to turn her away and I am sure that, in the worst case, the rest of the tenants would still approve so, why did I let her stay?

_"Do you hate me Keitaro?"_

Su had asked me that, of course I didn't hate her but yesterday I was just so... so angry, after remembering my accident... **the accident**, the incident that began the entire thing... I was so sick and angry of it all that I just wanted to be left alone.

But that wasn't Su's fault... so why did I treat her like that? I wasn't thinking straight; there were better ways to have dealt with her that didn't involve trying to get rid of her. Well, it's not like I was** successful** but...

_"Do you hate me Keitaro?"_ I had succeeded at something else, and if it hadn't been just Su...

I realized that whenever I was angry, Su or the tenants didn't deserve to be treated as an outlet for it... And even thought I lived alongside them I was still their caretaker and they were my tenants.

I would apologize to Su later today.

I threw a bucket of water over my head, rubbing my neck and shoulders, then I checked my cast... it was still dry, and relaxed a bit more; After a few more minutes, I had had enough and began drying myself, I changed into some fresh clothes, just a shirt, shorts and a tennis shoe, comfortable clothes for a day like this. Also, considering how I have been spending them, running would be much easier with these.

Entering my room, it was surprising to find Su gone as well as the futons, after checking the closet both futons were already folded and stored. Su was a lot more considerate than I thought; I had the feeling that she would leave hers undone and the door open after leaving the room.

I idled a bit in my room, playing some scenarios in my head in case breakfast went awry, well, **when** it went awry, so far, I couldn't say that any breakfast had gone without a hitch, yesterday was a specially dangerous day, I sincerely thought that something was going to 'blow', no, explode was more like it, all my instincts told me to split before the aftermath of Kitsune's 'teasing' was unleashed.

But that was yesterday, would Narusegawa still be angry? At least Motoko seemed more embarrassed than angry and maybe that's why she didn't give chase; I think she knew it was Kitsune's antics but, for my sake, I wouldn't bring it up.

What was Kitsune thinking? She **is** a trickster but, thinking about it, she is not the type to do fruitless things; anything she did she did with a purpose, maybe it was a tease, maybe she just wanted to make Motoko blush or maybe... make Narusegawa angry?

She had discussed something with her, something that let her down and the next day... she did that. Were they having a fight? I would expect some screaming and name-calling but this... those two knew each other very well but why would she use me to get under Narusegawa's skin?

Something was definitely happening behind my back, something Kitsune and Narusegawa wanted to keep under the table, I needed to start acting smarter or I would get caught in between...

***Knock, knock***

"Sempai, are you there? Can I come in?"

"Yes Shinobu, go ahead"

Shinobu shyly entered my room, taking a quick look around it; she then told me that breakfast was ready and asked me if I needed any help. I hadn't spoken to Shinobu a lot but she always wanted to help me, I was grateful for her.

"I am ok Shinobu, thank you, let's go get breakfast"

"Ok, sempai"

We went downstairs together, Shinobu was looking after me. She kept looking at me constantly as if she expected something to happen. I chuckled.

"No need to be so concerned about me Shinobu, I can already walk with my crutches naturally"

"Sorry Sempai"

"Don't be sorry, you have helped me a lot" Shinobu looked a bit shocked at first, but then she blushed and went ahead of me.

She was such a sweet girl... she cooked, washed and cleaned in exchange for her monthly fee, she also goes to school, and if the tenants profiles were correct, she was doing fine and on top of that; she found the time to help me, she was amazing.

I should make it up for her, hopefully, I could do that without making her cry this time, she didn't deserve that; I had to find out what she liked.

When I got to the kitchen, everyone was already there except for Sarah who had left with Seta yesterday. Su acknowledged my presence by lifting her head from her plate, waving a 'Hello' and then going back to business, by Shinobu's request, I took a seat.

Shinobu's food was great as always, french toast coated with honey, a pinch of cinnamon, and fresh fruit on top, alongside orange juice and milk to wash it down, I was delighted, the food was simple but each mouthful was filled with flavor, it was out of this world, nothing could make me happier that eating Shinobu's breakfast, I was not exaggerating.

"These are truly great, thank you Shinobu!" I complimented the young chef, she blushed but then quickly moved to tend to the food again.

"Yeah, Shinomu's cooking is the greatest!" Kaolla said before finishing whatever was left on her plate and jumped out of her chair with a backflip, landing a few steps from her, she held her dish ready for seconds, or maybe thirds? At the speed she gulped down her food I wouldn't be surprised; I couldn't blame her though, after all we both agreed that Shinobu's food was especial.

"So, Keitaro..." Kitsune spoke with a whimsical tone, as if she was about to prank you or simply sweet talk you... was she planning something again? I needed to be careful not to put my foot in my mouth.

"Yes?"

"Don't you have something to tell us?"

I looked up, trying to remember something, nothing came to my mind... "No, I can't think of something to announce"

"Oh, what about your trip to Toudai?!" She said in exasperation, everyone else focused their eyes on me, except for Su, who was still chugging down her food.

"Ah, you really want to know about **that**" Everyone nodded in unison. "To tell the truth, I didn't remember much, and I didn't meet anyone familiar except for Seta"

"Seta is here? Since when?" Kitsune and Narusegawa spoke at the same time.

"Since yesterday I believe, he took Sarah with her"

"Wait, how did you know it was Seta and not a stranger?" Now Motoko and Naru said in unison.

_'Remember, play it smart'_

"Because he knew who I was and where I lived, Haruka's name, showed me his ID and also Sarah ran up to him and called him 'daddy'" The two girls looked at me strangely but then nodded accordingly.

"Yes, I was also there and my scanners said it was a match, Sarah left with Seta" Kaolla proudly announced.

"Oh Su, I gather that you will need a... playmate" Motoko carefully suggested as she seemed to weight some of the possibilities... or consequences.

"Oh, no worries, Keitaro said he would play with me before I slept with -"

"Su! Your banana split is ready! "Shinobu announced from the back of the kitchen, Su immediately jumped out of her seat. She was drooling when Shinobu presented her the biggest banana split I had ever seen, it was a huge bowl filled to the brim with bananas, whipped cream, ice cream and hot chocolate, of course, there were cherries on top; Su couldn't be more delighted, I had never seen her so excited, she immediately tried to snatch the bowl but Shinobu swiped it out of her reach.

"Su..." Shinobu said cautiously.

"Yes I know, Thank you Shinomu!"

"Before she slept with?!" Narusegawa and Motoko said in unison, one of their eyes were twitching and what I feared the most was about to happen as I saw Narusegawa cracking her knuckles, did she know martial arts? But that was not all, Motoko's hand was already reaching for her boken.

The situation had turned dire all of a sudden, I never meant to tell anyone and I hoped to speak with Su after breakfast to apologize and ask her to keep it a secret, but them finding out like this wasn't part of the plan. This was bad, **really bad**, I don't think I could ever explain it and I couldn't force it out of Su, I am sure the very reason she did that was very personal and besides, by looking at their outraged faces, I don't think Motoko or Narusegawa would give me time for that.

_'Come on, think of something!' _My mind was on override as it tried to come up with something, but the collective glares of Naru, Motoko and even Kitsune's curious gace kept me from coming with something coherent.

"Before she slept with me, in my room" Shinobu interjected. Narusegawa, Motoko, Kitsune and even me looked at her but I kept quiet.

"You spent a night with Su... and we don't need to take you to the hospital? How!? "We were all staring at her with disbelief, but for different reasons.

"It was a little hard at first but after I promised her one big banana split, she behaved"

"Yes, Shinomu is the best!" Su agreed in between mouthfuls.

"Oooh little Shinobu is growing up so fast, I am proud of you girl!" Kitsune said as she wiped a tear, looking extremely proud of her "Now you only need to grow into one of my special garments and you will be ready to take over the world!"

"Special Garments?" I asked.

"Ooooh aren't you curious?" Then she opened the top buttons of her blouse, letting me see a peek of her black bra with some very… interesting detailing.

I blushed and looked away because I was already walking on eggshells, any retaliation from Motoko or Narusegawa, would only make things worse and, unsurprisingly, that was enough incentive to keep my eyesight away from Kitsune's charming personality. I tried to think of something new, I had to retaliate to her teasing and blow this awkwardness away somehow, but how?

"I think the world is quite safe from you Kitsune"

That slipped out of me without knowing and it took all the willpower I had not to clasp my hands against my mouth and then run for my life. Everyone in the room was shocked, except for Su, she was now halfway her banana split, how I envied her and how grateful I was that she was not paying me attention.

That had come out so wrong, was it offensive? Dear god, I didn't want it to sound offensive, how should I apologize? Should I let her slap me? Would Motoko be taking care of 'it'?

"Ooooh, now this will not do... I think that you need a closer look for a second opinion"

Then, unexpectedly my face was enveloped in warm and soft skin. It took me several seconds to register what had happened, but the detailing of Kitsune's bra was so clear right now... I couldn't deny I got some enjoyment out of it before reality sank in and a rush of blood flowed to my head and left in stream of blood began gushing unceremoniously out of my nose, making me pass out, maybe for the best, Motoko wouldn't punish an unconscious man.

I hoped

I woke up in my room again, this had happened before... once with Su's toys. This time I was embarrassed that I had passed out but more importantly I was angry that I passed out because of **that;** I mean, would that happen if I ever got intimate with a girl? But on the bright side, I think that saved my life this time, that and Shinobu's lie... did that mean she knew about...?

She knew... she definitely did, and she bribed Su so she would tell the tenants she slept in her room but... **why?**

This kept going around my head as I tried to find a reason she would do that, was she having a fight as well? Is this how things were 'solved' around here? My head started to hurt, this was too confusing and having the sensation of being left in the dark really didn't help my mood, I was sick of this room, and sick of being the only one without a clue, who could I ask for help?

Haruka... my aunt Haruka should give me a good advice, so, without thinking it twice I went outside, towards her teashop.

* * *

The teashop was 'relaxed' which is a way to say that there was only one client sitting in a corner reading a book, his coffee was untouched as he was completely drawn in, when my aunt saw me she greeted me and offered me some tea.

"I was just about to go visit you, but I took my time considering you passed out today"

"You know about that?!" I asked, embarrassed.

"Of course, it's not unusual for you" She said in a matter of fact voice; I looked at her, by the expression of her face, she was serious about that.

"Oh" I felt myself become a little smaller, it could be 'usual' for me but it was embarrassing that my nose would bleed from a girl showing me some cleavage. Passing out when a girl got 'close' and 'personal' with me wasn't something someone could be proud of.

"Don't sulk Keitaro, I think that only happens to you because you get too nervous, that's all" Haruka said as she gave me a comforting smile.

"Maybe, but it's still embarrassing... how do I-"

"Date someone, I guess, get used to girls and be relaxed around them should be enough to help you with that"

"But -"

"Easier said than done eh? But I still think it would be worth it... and who knows, it could be 'fun'"

"**'Fun'?**"

"**Don't** misunderstand "She made a stern face that made me freeze for a second "What I mean is, you don't need to take it too seriously and you might end up enjoy dating someone, what I am **really **saying is it could be worth it"

I massaged my temples, I just couldn't believe we had a conversation about me about this... whenever I... with girls...

"Cheer up now, I know it's embarrassing but just think about it, okay?"

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I know you since you were little? Also, I am guessing this isn't what you really wanted to talk about"

"But we are talking in public about-"

"In public? You mean the client on the corner? Don't worry about him, look" She then called out to the customer but he didn't even flinch, she then took a napkin, rolled it and threw it past him, most people would have reacted to have an object landing near them but not him, he was still impassive, drawn into whatever he was reading.

"He hasn't even touched his coffee, and I served it to him around 20 minutes ago, of course, it's cold right now... Whenever he reaches some kind of impasse or a checkpoint on his book, he will give it a sip, read a little more and then finish the coffee, just to ask for another and follow the same routine. I guess he orders it because he is being considerate, he doesn't bother anyone and it's still better than an empty shop" Haruka argued, I nodded.

"So nephew, what did you want to talk about?" Haruka went to the point

"Haruka, something is happening with the tenants behind my back..."

"Something like?"

"They are fighting over something I don't know about and I think I am in the middle of it for some reason... Narusegawa and Kitsune specially?"

"Narusegawa?"

"Yes, you know, the brunette"

"That's not what I meant... before the incident you always called her Naru, did you two have a fight?"

"No! Actually we actually never talk and she and Kitsune are the ones 'fighting'… sort of…"Haruka looked at me seriously and intrigued at the same time, she took out a smoke, lit it up and took a long sip, as if contemplating something... I hadn't told her much but even then I realized that maybe she knew a lot more about the tenants than she let on. She then asked me to start over again and tell her everything I knew.

She listened to me, nodding and taking slow but continuous sips on her cigarette, she took out an ashtray from her apron as she burned through the fags, giving me her full attention; she only excused herself when her client asked for a refill. It was a slow day for Haruka, but it had proven to be quite fruitful to me.

When I was done, Haruka gave one final sip to her fifth cigarette before grinding it on the ashtray, she then reflected a bit and suddenly spoke.

"Don't worry about it"

That wasn't the answer I was looking for, my face must have shown that because, before I said anything, Haruka held her hand, asking me to listen.

"Look, you, as the caretaker, are right to worry about your tenant's wellbeing, but keep in mind that it's also their lives and even thought you were left outside the loop; know that they are both their best and their very worse friends, two faces of the same coin if you will but they have something in common"

"What is that?"

"They are both really bad when it comes to admitting their feelings, one of them doesn't admit them because she feels she is above them and other won't because she feels she is below them... and they complement each other, the fight might get nasty but they need that. My only advice for you is not to take a side and let them sort it out by themselves"

"That's a lot of hindsight"

"No, I've just known them longer than you, even before your first arrival at the sou, also I have a knack for these things"

"But I am in the middle of -"

"Yes, you are in the middle of that, but this fight **is not about you**, they are using you as an excuse to fight but in reality those two would have fought over it sooner or later. If you take your distance they will still sort it out and don't worry; Knowing them, they will be back to being friends, trust me on this... they're inseparable"

She was completely serious about that, I didn't know what to think... wasn't my duty as the manager to make sure everyone got along nicely? But if Haruka was right, then the smartest thing to do was to simply watch from the sides as they 'sorted it out'. What about the rest of the tenants, would they be affected?

"Keitaro, I was hoping to ask you something" Haruka suddenly spoke.

"What is it?"

"Seta came to talk to me last night about you and Sarah, he seemed worried about you… told me you were in a sour mood"

"Sorry..."

"Don't be sorry with me, and don't worry about apologizing to that dunce, he asked me if Sarah had been giving you trouble seeing as you were a bit happy about her going with him for a few days"

"Sorry, yesterday wasn't a good day and my mood got the better of me" Haruka nodded and told me not to apologize to her, if anything I should apologize to Seta... then again she told me Seta was more concerned about me than him, she then asked me what I felt about Sarah.

"Well, I admit Sarah is very hyperactive and sometimes she takes her 'games' a bit too far, but I think she and Su make perfect playmates for each other."

"I see, she is a bit of a brat but that is only because she misses her father, so don't hold it against her too much, and you are right, the only one who can keep up with Su in terms of stamina are her and Motoko. Which reminds me... how did you survive your encounter with Su last night?"

Haruka didn't say anything but I was sure my face grew pale.

"So she **did** sleep in your room last night, but you don't seem hurt... not like last time when we had to bandage you"

"You mean she had done that before?!"

"Yes, Motoko had left for training and Sarah hadn't joined the tenants so she went for the nearest person to catch her interest, you."

"So that means that I was making a big deal out of nothing?!"

"In a way, yes, but not completely. The last time that happened Narusegawa also slept in the same room as you two because she didn't trust you around Su, and when Su had a nightmare... well... she hugged you so hard that I could hear your screams from here"

I shivered

"Long story short, Naru helped bandage your wounds and you tried not to let that happen again... but now you both slept in the same room again and there was no need to call for an ambulance. How did you do it?"

I told Haruka what had happened

"So you think Su is lonely?"

"Not lonely, but I think Su misses her family, specially her brother"

"I see... I wouldn't have guessed that, to me, Su's mind is kind of... random. I don't think she wants anyone to know that she misses her homeland, but I think that she took a liking for you for a reason"

"What would that be?"

"She called you 'brother' right? Maybe you remind her of him or maybe she considers you like a part of her family? I can't really tell with her but I think that something happened that made her panic"

"..." That made a lot of sense, I was really ashamed of myself right now... I really needed to apologize to her.

"Thank you for the advice Haruka, I think I know what I need to do right now"

"Take care of yourself kiddo, and Keitaro..."

"Yes?"

"It's all right for you to chase after your memories but, don't forget that you still have a lot more to look forward to"

I stared at her. That had been incredibly cheesy.

"I know it sounded cheesy, **now out with you!**" Haruka said as she blushed and I took that as a sign that it had been enough pep talk for one day.

"Excuse me..."

"**YES?!**"

"Another coffee, no sugar, and bring me some milk to go along with it please"

"Sorry sir, right away..."

* * *

Heading back to the sou, I recapped the situation until now... I could take my time, and this was as good time as any to do some extra thinking...

The motives behind Naru's, Kitsune's and even Su's actions were finally starting to come into shape, they had their own problems, I would give them the space they needed to sort them out, I only hoped that the rest of the tenants didn't get caught in between. I needed to think of something in case that happened.

Also, it seemed my life, my past life, was more of a mystery than I had thought how did I end up living in an all-girls dorm if I got so nervous around them? Maybe there was something more to it all…

And finally... maybe I was pushing myself too much in searching for my memories, I would try to take it easy this time, after all, amnesia is not something that magically goes away... but even though it's scary to lose all that time, all those memories... Haruka had a point.

As I reached the sou's entrance, I met Shinobu on her way out, I suddenly froze and so did she, I was thankful for her as she had saved me back then at breakfast, but I wasn't sure about her intentions…

"H… Hi Shinobu!" I said in between stutters as I tried, without much success, to act casual

"H… Hello s… sempai!" She seemed to have the same troubles as me too…

"A... are you out for a walk?"

"N… no, I was about to go and do some grocery shopping" She answered me, I needed to talk to her…

"Can I go along with you, I mean, do you mind if I—"

"No! I mean, I don't mind sempai!"

We both waited in silence as we both expected someone to say something... nothing happened though, after a while we both simply realized how silly it all was.

"Uhm... well, sorry to ask but... where is the market Shinobu?"

"S... Sorry sempai, right this way, l... let's go!"

We were both so awkward around each other, but if I had to become more used to girls... there was no time like the present; I think that, in the end, it would help us both.

* * *

Ok... Another chapter is done... at last !

I am sorry for the long wait, and I hope you find this chapter to your liking. Please let me know your opinions, likes, dislikes, death threats etc via review or PM.

And for the record... this fic will be finished... eventually

PS: By the way, if someone is interested in pre-reading this stuff please PM me, I try my best to keep every chapter with as little errors as possible and I believe that pre-emptive feedback could be useful.

Thank you for reading.

Jkaitz


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